Post-parturitional changes in the proportion of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in Toxocara canis-infected mice and their offspring

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the post-parturitional changes in the proportion of the splenic CD4+ and CD8+ subpopulation of T lymphocytes after the birth of Toxocara canis infected C57Bl/6 mice and their offspring in relation to the intensity of infection. In mothers infected on the day of mating the proportion of CD4+ T lymphocytes showed an increase for the period of 21 days after the birth in comparison with the control group of the mothers. Conversely, the proportion of CD8+ T lymphocytes showed a significant decline throughout the whole course of the observation. In the offspring of infected mothers the initial increase of CD4+ after the birth turned into a significant decrease in comparison with the offspring of the healthy mothers. The reduction of CD8+ T lymphocytes was detected in the offspring of the infected mothers almost throughout the whole period of observation. The CD4+/CD8+ ratio showed a considerable increase in infected mothers and their offspring in comparison with the control groups. T. canis larvae in the muscle of offspring were found for the first time on the fifth day after the birth and the number of larvae showed a moderate increase. The results refer to the changes in the immune regulatory mechanisms in the T. canis infected mothers and the high level of miscarriages after infection.