The endocrine-immune network during taeniosis by Taenia solium: The role of the pituitary gland.
It is well known that sex hormones play an important role during Taenia solium infection; however, to our knowledge no studies exist concerning the immune response following complete or lobe-specific removal of the pituitary gland during T. solium infection. Thus, the aim of this work was to analyze in hamsters, the effects of lack of pituitary hormones on the duodenal immune response, and their impact on T. solium establishment and development. Thus, in order to achieve this goal, we perform anterior pituitary lobectomy (AL, n = 9), neurointermediate pituitary lobectomy (NIL, n = 9) and total hypophysectomy (HYPOX, n = 8), and related to the gut establishment and growth of T. solium, hematoxylin-eosin staining of duodenal tissue and immunofluorescence of duodenal cytokine expression and compared these results to the control intact (n = 8) and control infected group (n = 8). Our results indicate that 15 days post-infection, HYPOX reduces the number and size of intestinally recovered T. solium adults. Using semiquantitative immunofluorescent laser confocal microscopy, we observed that the mean intensity of duodenal IFN-γ and IL-12 Th1 cytokines was mildly expressed in the infected controls, in contrast with the high level of expression of these cytokines in the NIL infected hamsters. Likewise, the duodenum of HYPOX animals showed an increase in the expression of Th2 cytokines IL-5 and IL-6, when compared to control hamsters. Histological analysis of duodenal mucosa from HYPOX hamsters revealed an exacerbated inflammatory infiltrate located along the lamina propria and related to the presence of the parasite. We conclude that lobe-specific pituitary hormones affect differentially the T. solium development and the gut immune response.
Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Andrés
A
Quintanar-Stephano
Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, México DF 04510, Mexico.
Rosalía
R
Hernández-Cervantes
Departamento de Biología Celular y Fisiología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, México DF 04510, Mexico.
Norma
N
Moreno-Mendoza
Unidad de Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Hospital General de México, 06726 México DF, Mexico.
Galileo
G
Escobedo
Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, México DF 04510, Mexico.
Julio Cesar
JC
Carrero
Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, México DF 04510, Mexico.
Karen E
KE
Nava-Castro
Departamento de Inmunología, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, México DF 04510, Mexico. Electronic address: jmontor66@biomedicas.unam.mx.
Jorge
J
Morales-Montor
D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004386:Duodenum / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007016:Hypophysectomy; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000378:metabolism; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D008647:Mesocricetus; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D013622:Taeniasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*
D016207:Cytokines; D015848:Interleukin-5; D015850:Interleukin-6; D018664:Interleukin-12; D007371:Interferon-gamma
Cytokines; GALT; Host–parasite relationship; Hypophysectomy; Neuroendocrine–immune regulation; Pituitary hormones; Taenia solium; Taeniosis