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Infection and Immunity, February 2004, p. 810-817, Vol. 72, No. 2
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.2.810-817.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107,1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona 85259,2 The Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, New York 100213
Received 22 July 2003/ Returned for modification 20 October 2003/ Accepted 12 November 2003
Mice immunized with irradiated Onchocerca volvulus third-stage larvae developed protective immunity. Eosinophil levels were elevated in the parasite microenvironment at the time of larval killing, and measurements of total serum antibody levels revealed an increase in the immunoglobulin E (IgE) level in immunized mice. The goal of the present study was to identify the role of granulocytes and antibodies in the protective immune response to the larval stages of O. volvulus in mice immunized with irradiated larvae. Immunity did not develop in mice if granulocytes, including both neutrophils and eosinophils, were eliminated, nor did it develop if only eosinophils were eliminated. Moreover, larvae were killed in naïve interleukin-5 transgenic mice, and the killing coincided with an increase in the number of eosinophils and the eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) level in the animals. To determine if EPO was required for protective immunity, mice that were genetically deficient in EPO were immunized, and there were no differences in the rates of parasite recovery in EPO-deficient mice and wild-type mice. Two mouse strains were used to study B-cell function; µMT mice lacked all mature B cells, and Xid mice had deficiencies in the B-1 cell population. Immunity did not develop in the µMT mice but did develop in the Xid mice. Finally, protective immunity was abolished in mice treated to eliminate IgE from the blood. We therefore concluded that IgE and eosinophils are required for adaptive protective immunity to larval O. volvulus in mice.
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