title: Long-term effect of prenatal exposure to maternal microfilaraemia on immune responsiveness to filarial parasite antigens.
abstract: To identify long-term effects of prenatal exposure to maternal filarial-parasite infection, we assessed lymphocyte responses in 21 Polynesian children born 17-19 years previously to mothers diagnosed as being microfilaraemic or infection-free. All children lived on an island endemic for bancroftian filariasis but were free from infection at the time of study. While children (n = 10) of infection-free mothers responded vigorously to microfilarial antigen with lymphocyte proliferation, production of interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-5, IL-10, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), cellular hyporesponsiveness was seen in children (n = 11) born to microfilaraemic mothers. The hyporesponsiveness appeared restricted to microfilarial antigens and did not extend to non-parasite antigens. These findings suggest that hyporesponsiveness resulted from in-utero acquisition of tolerance to microfilarial antigens in chronically-infected mothers.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guinea
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Ottesen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008842:Microfilariae / Q000276:immunology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000276:immunology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D016207:Cytokines