title: Schistosoma mansoni: antigen-presenting cells emigrating from skin exposed to attenuated cercariae activate lymphoid cells and transfer protection in C57B1/6 mice.
abstract: C57B1/6 mice develop significant levels of protection to a challenge infection after percutaneous exposure to irradiated Schistosoma mansoni cercariae. Although some circumstantial evidence has suggested that antigen-presenting cells (APCs) within the skin play a role in priming anti-schistosomula effector mechanisms, no direct evidence has been presented. In this study, we describe efforts to directly test whether skin-resident APCs exposed to irradiated cercariae are capable of mediating responses consistent with previously proposed mechanisms associated with delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions. We demonstrate that a population of APCs emigrates from the skin after percutaneous vaccination and that these cells are able to induce proliferation of S. mansoni-specific lymphocytes. We describe our experiments conducted to confirm that proliferation is dependent on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class-II interactions and cell-to-cell contact between APCs and lymphocytes. Immunohistological staining of emigrating cells revealed a population of large MHC Class-II+ cells with a morphology characteristic of mature dendritic cells. On recovery and adoptive transfer into naive mice, these cells demonstrated the ability to mediate protection to a challenge infection at levels similar to those in percutaneously vaccinated controls. This confirms that cutaneous APCs can initiate anti-schistosomula effector mechanisms in C57B1/6 mice after percutaneous vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Berry College, 7012 Martha Berry Highway, Mount Berry, Georgia 30149, USA. chall@berry.edu
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Margaret D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Eugenio
authors.forename: Raymond T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Damian
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D004431:Ear, External; D005260:Female; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000276:immunology*; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D014611:Vaccination