title: Cellular responses and cytokine production in post-treatment hookworm patients from an endemic area in Brazil.
abstract: Human hookworm infections are distributed widely in tropical areas and have a significant impact on host morbidity and human health. In the present study, we investigated the cellular responsiveness and cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from Necator americanus-infected schoolchildren who had recently received chemotherapy, and compared them with non-infected endemic controls. Hookworm patients and treated, egg-negative individuals showed a lower cellular reactivity against phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and hookworm antigen when compared with egg-negative endemic controls. The baseline production of proinflammatory tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in PBMC from infected patients and treated, egg-negative individuals was elevated. On the other hand, PHA- or hookworm antigen-induced interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon (IFN)-gamma secretion was higher in endemic controls than in hookworm patients, who either continued egg-positive or were egg-negative after treatment. Also, PBMC from endemic controls secreted more IL-5 and IL-13 than the other patient groups. Opposite to that, the spontaneous as well as the antigen-driven IL-10 secretion was lower in endemic controls when compared with the other groups. In summary, patently hookworm-infected as well as egg-negative treated patients disclosed an elevated spontaneous cellular secretion of proinflammatory TNF-alpha, a prominent secretion of regulatory Th2-type IL-10 and an impaired production of IL-12, IFN-gamma, IL-5 and IL-13.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Laboratório de Imunologia, Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil. stefan.geiger@tropa.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Geiger
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Massara
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bethony
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Soboslay
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Corrêa-Oliveira
mesh_terms: D015766:Albendazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000378:metabolism; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000378:metabolism; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000378:metabolism; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D009017:Morbidity; D017221:Necator americanus; D009332:Necatoriasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D016207:Cytokines; D018793:Interleukin-13; D015848:Interleukin-5; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D018664:Interleukin-12; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D015766:Albendazole