Primed peritoneal B lymphocytes are sufficient to transfer protection against Brugia pahangi infection in mice.
Lymphatic filariasis is a tropical disease caused by the nematode parasites Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. Whereas the protective potential of T lymphocytes in filarial infection is well documented, investigation of the role of B lymphocytes in antifilarial immunity has been neglected. In this communication, we examine the role of B lymphocytes in antifilarial immunity, using Brugia pahangi infections in the murine peritoneal cavity as a model. We find that B lymphocytes are required for clearance of primary and challenge infections with B. pahangi third-stage larvae (L3). We assessed the protective potential of peritoneal B lymphocytes by adoptive transfer experiments. Primed but not naïve peritoneal B cells from wild-type mice that had been immunized with B. pahangi L3 protected athymic recipients from challenge infection. We evaluated possible mechanisms by which B cells mediate protection. Comparisons of cytokine mRNA expression between B-lymphocyte-deficient and immunocompetent mice following B. pahangi infection suggest that B cells are required for the early production of Th2-type cytokines by peritoneal cells. In addition, B-cell-deficient mice demonstrate a defect in inflammatory cell recruitment to the peritoneal cavity following B. pahangi infection. The data demonstrate a critical role of B lymphocytes in antifilarial immunity in naïve mice and in the memory response in primed mice.
Paciorkowski
Natalia
N
Department of Pathology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030-3105, USA.
Shultz
Leonard D
LD
Rajan
T V
TV
D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000276:immunology; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D017179:Brugia pahangi / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005368:Filariasis / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity / Q000166:cytology
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D016207:Cytokines