title: Do interleukin-6 and macrophage-migration inhibitory factor play a role during sex-associated susceptibility in murine cysticercosis?
abstract: In murine Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis, females sustain larger intensities of infection than males. However, during chronic infection, this difference disappears and males show a feminization process. To further study the role of two cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and macrophage-migration inhibitory factor (MIF), known to be involved in immunoendocrinological processes during sex-associated susceptibility in cysticercosis, IL-6 and MIF gene knockout (KO) mice were infected, and the number of parasites and serum sex-steroid levels were measured. Results show that IL-6 and MIF KO mice of both genders infected with T. crassiceps cysticerci harbor similar numbers of parasites, with no change in sex-hormone levels. However, in wild-type strains, females have twice as many parasites as males. At the same time, there is a decrease of 80% in testosterone and dihydrotestosterone serum levels, and a 100-fold increase in the levels of estradiol in infected male mice. These results suggest a role for both IL-6 and MIF genes in sex-associated susceptibility in murine T. crassiceps cysticercosis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, UNAM, AP 70228, Mexico DF 04510, Mexico. jmontor66@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morales-Montor
authors.forename: Salman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baig
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kabbani
authors.forename: Raymond T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Damian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003551:Cysticercosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D003552:Cysticercus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013196:Dihydrotestosterone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004958:Estradiol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D008263:Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D012737:Sex Factors; D013739:Testosterone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D008263:Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors; D013196:Dihydrotestosterone; D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol