title: Systemic Cytokine Profiles in Strongyloides stercoralis Infection and Alterations following Treatment.
abstract: Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil-transmitted helminth organism that infects ~50 to 100 million people worldwide. Despite its widespread prevalence, very little is known about the immune response that characterizes human S. stercoralis infection. To study the systemic cytokine profile characteristic of Strongyloides infection, we measured the circulating levels of a large panel of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in asymptomatic, infected individuals (n = 32) and compared them to those in uninfected, controls (n = 24). Infected individuals exhibited significantly lower circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines (gamma interferon [IFN-γ], tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], and interleukin-1β [IL-1β]) and significantly higher levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13, IL-27, IL-37, and transforming growth factor β [TGF-β]). Moreover, treatment of Strongyloides infection resulted in a significant reversal of the cytokine profile, with increased levels of proinflammatory (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-22, IL-23, and IL-1β) and decreased levels of anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13, IL-27, IL-37, and TGF-β) cytokines following treatment. Thus, S. stercoralis infection is characterized by alterations in the levels of systemic cytokines, reflecting major alterations in the underlying immune response to this chronic helminth infection.
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health-NIRT-International Center for Excellence in Research, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Rajamanickam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anuradha
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health-NIRT-International Center for Excellence in Research, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Saravanan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Munisankar
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health-NIRT-International Center for Excellence in Research, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Yukti
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bhootra
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health-NIRT-International Center for Excellence in Research, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Jeeva
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jagannathan
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Chandrakumar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dolla
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumaran
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Nutman
authors.affiliation: National Institutes of Health-NIRT-International Center for Excellence in Research, Chennai, India Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA sbabu@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Subash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Babu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000969:Antinematodal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017171:Strongyloides stercoralis / Q000276:immunology*; D013322:Strongyloidiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000969:Antinematodal Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D015848:Interleukin-5; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D007371:Interferon-gamma