Abstract
Like other helminths, Trichinella spiralis has evolved strategies to allow it to survive in the host organism, including the expression of epitopes similar to those present in either expressed or hidden host antigens. To identify T. spiralis-derived antigens that are evolutionarily conserved in the parasite and its host and that could be responsible for its evasion of the host immune response, we examined the reactivity of six different types of autoantibodies to T. spiralis larvae from muscle. T. spiralis antigens that share epitopes with human autoantigens were identified by assessing the cross-reactivity of autoantibody-containing serum samples with T. spiralis antigens in the absence of specific anti-parasite antibodies. Of the 55 autoantibody-containing human serum samples that we analysed by immunohistological screening, 24 (43.6%) recognised T. spiralis muscle larvae structures such as the subcuticular region, the genital primordium or the midgut. Using Western blots, we demonstrated that the same sera reacted with 24 protein components of T. spiralis muscle larvae excretory-secretory L1 antigens. We found that the human autoantibodies predominantly bound antigens belonging to the TSL1 group; more specifically, the autoantibody-containing sera reacted most frequently with the 53-kDa component. Thus, this protein is a good candidate for further studies of the mechanisms of T. spiralis-mediated immunomodulation.
Highlights
The immune system, which evolved to detect, inactivate and/or destroy invaders, includes both innate and adaptive responses that are activated upon encounter of foreign epitopes
24 (43.6%) of the 55 samples containing anti-nuclear antibodies (ANAs), anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMAs), anti-smooth muscle antibodies (ASMAs), anti-keratin antibodies (AKAs), rheumatoid factor (RF) or anti-CCP autoantibodies recognised structures of T. spiralis muscle larvae other than the stichosome, such as the subcuticular region, the genital primordium or the midgut (Fig. 2 C, D, E)
We have demonstrated that human autoantibodies from sera without either T. spiralisspecific antibodies or antigens recognise some parasite antigens
Summary
The immune system, which evolved to detect, inactivate and/or destroy invaders, includes both innate and adaptive responses that are activated upon encounter of foreign epitopes. Antibodies has indicated that antibodies from the sera of patients with various autoimmune disorders, but without Trichinella infection can bind T. spiralis antigens (Robert et al 1996, Gomez-Morales et al 2008). We hypothesise that this cross-reactivity could result from the presence of common epitopes in the parasitic antigens and the autoantigens that may be involved in modulating the immune response. We used immunohistological staining and Western blots to detect T. spiralis antigens that cross-react with autoantibodies. We found that a large proportion of autoantibody-containing human sera recognized T. spiralis antigens
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