[Effect of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis induced alterations in T helper cell subsets on Plasmodium berghei infection in mice].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the anti-P. berghei ability of C57BL/6 mice after infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis alterations in T helper cell subsets in the course of Plasmodium infection, and the effect of the alteration on host's prognoses.


METHODS
C57BL/6 mice were infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis subcutaneously, 3 wk later, the mice were injected with Plasmodium berghei intraperitoneally. The parasitemia was monitored daily. On days 0, 3 and 9, RNA from the spleens of infected mice was prepared for PT-PCR to analyse the changes of IFN-gamma and IL-4 mRNA during the infection course.


RESULTS
Compared with control group, the peak-reaching time of parasitemia in the experiment group was delayed, and the bearing capacity of mice to malaria infection and the surviving time increased obviously. The IL-4 level in the experiment group was higher than that in the control group on day 0 of P. berghei infection, but all raised abnormally in both groups at the early stage of the infection; while IFN-gamma level in the experiment group was higher than that in the control group on day 3 after infection, and then began to reduce to some extent on day 9 of the infection in the experiment group.


CONCLUSIONS
T helper cell subsets play an important role in antimalarial immunoregulation in mice.
Xiao
N
N
Sichuan Institute of Parastitic Diseases, Chengdu 610041.
Furuta
T
T
Kiguchi
T
T
Kojima
S
S
D000818:Animals; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009559:Nippostrongylus / Q000276:immunology*; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000276:immunology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma