title: Intestinal IFN-γ production is associated with protection from clinical signs, but not with elimination of worms, in Echinostoma caproni infected-mice.
abstract: In the present paper, we assess the relationship between the expression of IFN-γ and the development of clinical signs in Echinostoma caproni-infected mice. For this purpose, we studied the course of the infection in three mouse strains: ICR (CD-1®) (a host of high compatibility with E. caproni), BALB/c (a prototypical Th2 strain), and BALB/c deficient for IFN-γ mice (IFN-γ(-/-)). Infection in ICR mice is characterized by the elevated expression of IFN-γ and iNOS in the intestine concomitantly with the lack of clinical signs. In contrast, the infection was more virulent in BALB/c and IFN-γ-deficient mice that developed a severe form of the disease together with the absence of IFN-γ expression. The disease was more severe in IFNγ(-/-) mice in which the disease was lethal during the few first weeks of the infection. The analysis of different parameters of the infection in each host strain showed that most of the features were similar in the three mouse strains, suggesting the IFN-γ plays a central role in that protection against severe disease. Thus, IFN-γ seems to play a dichotomous role in the infection facilitating the parasite establishment, but it may also benefit mice since it protects the mice from morbidity and mortality induced by the parasite.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia, Av. Vicente Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cortes
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sotillo
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Antoli
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.forename: J-Guillermo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Toledo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004449:Echinostoma / Q000145:classification*; D004451:Echinostomiasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007371:Interferon-gamma; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II