Chronic intestinal helminth infections are associated with immune hyporesponsiveness and induction of a regulatory network.
Helminth infections have been associated with protection against allergy and autoimmune diseases. We investigated the effects of chronic infections with Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura (measured twice over a 5-year period) on cytokine and antibody responses. We collected blood from 1,060 children aged 4 to 11 years living in a poor urban area of Brazil and measured Th1 (gamma interferon [IFN-gamma]) and Th2 (interleukin-5 [IL-5] and IL-13) cytokines and the regulatory cytokine IL-10 in unstimulated and stimulated (with mitogen or A. lumbricoides antigens) cultures of peripheral blood leukocytes and levels of total IgE and anti-A. lumbricoides IgG4 and IgE in serum. Intestinal helminth infections were associated with an increased proportion of children producing IL-5 in response to A. lumbricoides and producing IL-10 spontaneously, especially among coinfected and chronically infected children. Helminth infections were associated with a generalized suppression of cytokine responses to mitogen. Levels of total IgE and anti-A. lumbricoides IgG4 and IgE were especially elevated in chronically infected children. In conclusion, intestinal helminth infections were associated with a typical Th2 immune response profile and with the induction of immune hyporesponsiveness that was associated with greater frequencies of the production of spontaneous IL-10.
Figueiredo
Camila Alexandrina
CA
Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Departamento de Biorregulação, Salvador, Brazil. cavfigueiredo@gmail.com
Barreto
Mauricio L
ML
Rodrigues
Laura C
LC
Cooper
Philip J
PJ
Silva
Nívea Bispo
NB
Amorim
Leila D
LD
Alcantara-Neves
Neuza Maria
NM
D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D001196:Ascariasis / Q000276:immunology*; D017164:Ascaris lumbricoides / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D056724:Immunity, Humoral / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D014257:Trichuriasis / Q000276:immunology*; D014258:Trichuris / Q000276:immunology*
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D018793:Interleukin-13; D015848:Interleukin-5; D016753:Interleukin-10; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D007371:Interferon-gamma
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