title: Treatment with interleukin-18 binding protein ameliorates Toxoplasma gondii-induced small intestinal pathology that is induced by bone marrow cell-derived interleukin-18.
abstract: Peroral infection with Toxoplasma gondii results in a Th1-type immunopathology characterized by small intestinal necrosis and is dependent on IL-18. In the present study, we investigated whether treatment with IL-18 binding protein (IL-18bp) prevents ileal pathology. We observed increased expression of IL-18bp in intestinal biopsies of mice following infection. Whereas small intestines of control mice showed severe necrosis with complete destruction of the small intestinal architecture, mice treated with IL-18bp daily displayed only mild inflammatory changes including flattening of villi and edema in the space between the epithelium and lamina propria. Small intestinal parasite loads and concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines did not differ in control and IL-18bp-treated mice. Binding of IL-18 to immobilized IL-18bp revealed a remarkably slow dissociation rate, indicating high affinity. Using chimeric mice we observed that bone marrow-derived rather than stromal cells were the primary source of IL-18 that resulted in small intestinal pathology following peroral infection with T. gondii. In conclusion, the results presented here suggest that IL-18bp may be an effective and safe treatment for small intestinal inflammation. Antigen-presenting rather than epithelial cells appear to be the main source of IL-18 in T. gondii-induced small intestinal inflammation.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Struck
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Enders
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Steinhoff
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stallmach
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Liesenfeld
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Heimesaat
keywords: IL-18; IL-18 binding protein; Toxoplasma gondii; ileitis; immunopathology