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Infection and Immunity, June 2004, p. 3129-3137, Vol. 72, No. 6
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.6.3129-3137.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health,1 Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York2
Received 25 September 2003/ Returned for modification 21 November 2003/ Accepted 19 February 2004
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Research on muscle-stage T. spiralis has focused on elucidating the series of changes that the host muscle cell undergoes following infection (4, 11, 18, 34, 41). The host response to this phase of the infection is not well characterized. Early histologic studies of infected muscle revealed a very limited focus of inflammation surrounding chronically infected muscle cells (23), but the composition and dynamics of the infiltrate remain ill-defined.
The immune system sequesters persistent sources of antigen by establishment of a granulomatous barrier (36, 47, 53). Infections with Schistosoma mansoni or Mycobacterium spp. are characterized by disease resulting from chronic granulomatous responses to these highly immunogenic pathogens. From its intracellular habitat, T. spiralis secretes potent glycoprotein antigens that elicit a strong, systemic host immune response (44), yet local cellular infiltrates are limited. As a first step toward understanding this modulation, we examined the influence of interleukin-10 (IL-10) during synchronized muscle infections of C57BL/6J (wild-type [WT]) mice and B6.129P2-IL10tmlCgn (IL-10/) mice. IL-10 was first identified as a product of T-helper 2 (Th2) cells and was named cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor (25) because of its ability to inhibit cytokine production by T-helper 1 (Th1) cells. It is now well established that IL-10 interferes with T-cell function indirectly by inhibiting the production of cytokines (26, 40), nitric oxide (14, 28), major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) (45), and costimulatory molecules (21) by macrophages. More recently, IL-10 has been identified as a major product of regulatory T cells (29, 42) as well as of a subset of B cells that modulate intestinal inflammation (38).
In this report we describe histochemical, immunohistochemical, and flow cytometric findings that identify the constituents and characterize the architecture of the local cellular infiltrate as well as the cellular response in the pleural and peritoneal cavities. To avoid any complicating influences of IL-10 deficiency on the intestinal stages of infection, we established synchronous muscle infections by intravenous injection with newborn T. spiralis larvae. Our findings reveal a role for IL-10 in limiting inflammatory responses during the early stages of muscle infection by T. spiralis. We also provide evidence that sustained control of inflammation during chronic muscle infection is independent of IL-10 and is accompanied by a shift to a Th2 response following completion of parasite development in the muscle.
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Parasite and antigens. T. spiralis (pig strain) infectious larvae were recovered from muscles of irradiated AO rats by digestion with 1% pepsin in acidified water (13). The rats had been infected at least 28 days prior to collection of larvae. For recovery of adult worms, the rats were lightly sedated with ether and inoculated by gavage with 6,000 infectious larvae suspended in 0.3 to 0.8 ml of 2% nutrient broth-0.6% gelatin. Six days postinoculation, infected rats were killed by CO2 inhalation. Intestines were removed, flushed with saline, opened, and incubated for 2 h in saline containing antibiotics (200 IU of penicillin per ml, 200 µg of streptomycin per ml, and 50 µg of gentamicin per ml). Adult worms were recovered on a sterile, 75-µm sieve, washed twice with sterile saline containing antibiotics, and cultured for 24 h in minimal essential medium (MEM) containing 30% fetal calf serum, antibiotics, and 2 mM L-glutamine. NBL were separated from adult worms with a sterile, 75-µm sieve. The larvae were washed twice by gentle centrifugation in serum-free MEM.
Excretory-secretory antigen (ESA) was obtained from overnight cultures of muscle larvae as described previously (2). Somatic antigens from muscle larvae were prepared from whole-worm homogenate as described previously (3).
Experimental design. Mice were given a single intravenous injection (into the lateral tail vein) of 16,000 to 26,000 NBL suspended in 0.25 ml of serum-free MEM. Infection by this route bypasses the intestinal phase of infection, eliminating the intestinal immune response as a confounding variable. In addition, intravenous injection of NBL results in the synchronous development of nurse cells and the host response to muscle infection. Mice were killed by CO2 inhalation at the times indicated in each experiment.
Total muscle burden estimates and distribution of larvae following parenteral infection. Carcasses of infected mice were skinned, eviscerated, minced, and digested in separate flasks containing 200 ml of 1% pepsin-HCl. A minimum of 100 mature first-stage larvae (L1) were counted from each digestion flask, and the total parasite burden was estimated by extrapolation. In some experiments, anatomic distribution of larvae was determined by digesting the head, diaphragm, upper body, and lower body separately.
Histology. The diaphragm and tongue were fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formaldehyde solution for a minimum of 48 h before being embedded in paraffin. Sections (5 µm) were mounted on glass slides and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H & E).
Immunohistochemistry. The diaphragm and tongue were embedded in tissue freezing medium (Electron Microscopy Sciences, Ft. Washington, Pa.) and snap-frozen on dry ice. Sections (8 µm) were prepared (Cryocut 1800; Reichert-Jung, Buffalo, N.Y.), mounted on glass slides, and stored at 80°C. The slides were warmed to room temperature and fixed in ice-cold 100% ethanol for 10 min. All incubations were carried out at room temperature for 30 min unless otherwise noted. The slides were washed three times for a total of 5 min in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) following each incubation. To block endogenous peroxidase activity, the slides were immersed in 0.3% H2O2-1% NaN3 for 15 min. As a general blocking step, sections were incubated in 10% bovine serum albumin (BSA; Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.). Rat antibodies were prepared in 10% BSA. Biotinylated rabbit anti-rat antibody (Vectastain Elite ABC kit; Vector Labs, Burlingame, Calif.) was diluted to 3 µg/ml in a mixture of 10% normal mouse serum and 10% normal rabbit serum. Following incubation with the avidin-biotin complex reagent (Vectastain), sections were incubated for 10 min with metal-enhanced diaminobenzidine substrate (Pierce, Rockford, Ill.), counterstained with Gill's no. 2 hematoxylin (Vector Labs) for 2 min, rinsed in tap water, and mounted with Glycergel (DAKO Corp., Carpinteria, Calif.). Preparations were examined and photographed on BX51 microscope fitted with DP-12 digital camera system (Olympus, Melville, N.Y.).
Antibodies. Unless otherwise indicated, all antibodies were purchased from BD Pharmingen (San Diego, Calif.). Immunohistochemistry experiments employed rat monoclonal antibodies specific for mouse CD8ß (clone 53-5.8), CD45R/B220 (clone RA3-6B2), and CD45 (clone 30-F11). Monoclonal antibodies specific for CD4 (clone GK1.5; American Type Culture Collection [ATCC], Manassas, Va.) and MHCII (clone M5/114.15.2; ATCC) were purified from hybridoma supernatants by affinity chromatography (protein G-Sepharose; Pharmacia Biotech, Uppsala, Sweden) as described previously (8). Flow cytometric analyses employed Cy-Chrome-conjugated anti-T-cell receptor ß-chain (clone H57-597), allophycocyanin-conjugated anti-CD45R/B220 (clone RA3-6B2), and phycoerythrin-conjugated CD11b (clone M1/70). The specificity of binding was ensured by inclusion of immunoglobulin G2a (IgG2a) conjugated to Cy-Chrome, APC, or PE. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) experiments utilized rat monoclonal antibodies specific for mouse IgG1 (clone A85-1), IgG2a (clone R19-15), IgG2b (clone R12-3), IgG3 (clone R40-82), and IgM (clone R6-60.2). Isotype-specific antibodies were detected with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated mouse monoclonal antibody directed against rat Ig kappa light chain (clone G16-510E3).
Preparation of single-cell suspensions from diaphragm and cavity exudates. The diaphragm was removed and washed with PBS. Adherent and infiltrating cells were recovered by mincing the tissue and digesting it for 15 min at 37°C in collagenase I (Sigma Chemical Co.). Undigested muscle was manually dispersed on a stainless steel tea strainer, using a 12-ml syringe pestle. Cell preparations were pooled from three mice and passed through 70- and 40-µm sieves (Falcon, Oxnard, Calif.). Erythrocytes were lysed with Gey's solution for 5 min on ice. The remaining cells were washed twice with 0.25% BSA in PBS (BSA-PBS), and viable cells were counted following dilution in trypan blue. A ratio was calculated using the total pooled cell number from IL-10/ mice compared to WT mice. Experiments were repeated three times for uninfected mice and those 100 days postinfection (p.i.) and four times for 20 days p.i. Means were determined for each sampling period and evaluated by Fisher's protected least-significant-difference analysis (alpha level of 0.05).
Pleural exudates were obtained by lavage with 2.5 ml of BSA-PBS. The thorax was gently massaged before fluid was recovered with a 3-ml syringe affixed with a 22-gauge, 1-in. needle. Peritoneal exudates were collected by lavage with 10 ml of BSA-PBS. Fluid was recovered with a 12-ml syringe affixed with an 18-gauge, 1-in. needle. Cell preparations from individual mice were prepared as described above. The mean cell numbers were calculated for groups of four or five mice.
Flow cytometry. Cells were treated with 10% normal mouse serum in PBS for 20 min on ice, stained with fluorescent antibodies for 12 min at room temperature, washed once with PBS, and analyzed with a FACSCaliber flow cytometer (Becton Dickenson, Mansfield, Mass.). For data acquisition, 104 events were collected within a gate that included mononuclear leukocytes. Phenotypic analysis was carried out on a gate of the lymphocyte population using CellQuest Software (BD Pharmingen).
ELISA. Parasite-specific immunoglobulins in sera were measured by ELISA. Unless otherwise indicated, incubations were carried out for 1 h at room temperature. Polyvinyl 96-well plates were coated with either somatic antigen (5 µg/ml) or ESA (1 µg/ml) overnight at 4°C. Sera from individual mice were serially diluted threefold, and bound antibody was detected with rat monoclonal antibodies to IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3, and IgM (1 µg/ml) followed by horseradish peroxidase-conjugated mouse anti-rat kappa chain (1 µg/ml). The plates were developed for 30 min with tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) peroxidase substrate (KPL Laboratories, Gaithersburg, Md.) and stopped with 1 M H3PO4. Absorbance (450 nm) was measured with an ELISA plate reader (Bio-Tek Instruments, Winooski, Vt.). Titers for each isotype were defined as the reciprocal of the last dilution at which the absorbance was greater than 0.1 U. Geometric mean titers were calculated from groups of four mice.
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In general, the development of nurse cells in WT and IL-10/ mice followed a progression reported previously for mice of various strains (17). Five days after inoculation, occasional basophilic myotubes, each containing a single immature larva in an elongate or serpentine orientation, were observed in the diaphragm (Fig. 1A), tongue, and hind leg muscles (data not shown). Larvae grew approximately twofold between 5 and 10 days p.i. and began to assume a coiled conformation. Significant hypertrophy of infected cells and the initiation of a surrounding capsule were observed by 10 days p.i. (Fig. 1B). At 20 days p.i., infected myotubes were surrounded by thick collagen capsules, had lost all striations, had shortened significantly, and were approximately five times the diameter of adjacent, uninfected myotubes (Fig. 1C). Larvae were mature at 20 days p.i., as evidenced by their resistance to pepsin digestion. The microscopic appearances of larvae and infected cells were not altered between 20 and 55 days p.i. (Fig. 1D).
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FIG. 1. IL-10 inhibits inflammation during parasite development in muscle. Diaphragms were collected from synchronously infected WT (A to D) and IL-10/ (E and F) mice, sectioned, and stained with H & E. (A) WT, 5 days p.i.; infected myotubes are basophilic and demonstrate nuclear hypertrophy. (B) WT, 10 days p.i.; cellular infiltrates are evident around infected, hypertrophied muscle cells. (C) WT, 20 days p.i.; focal infiltrates cuff mature nurse cells. (D) WT, 55 days p.i.; attenuated focal infiltrates are seen. (E) IL-10/, 20 days p.i.; intense focal infiltration by inflammatory cells is seen. (F) IL-10/, 55 days p.i.; limited focal infiltrates are seen. Arrows denote the location of the T. spiralis larva within the muscle cell (A and B). Bars, 50 µm (A), 100 µm (B to F).
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Influence of IL-10 on the inflammatory response in infected muscle. Comparison of muscles collected 5 days p.i. from WT and IL-10/ mice revealed no apparent differences in either the composition or the magnitude of inflammation (data not shown). By 10 days p.i., there was a marked increase in the number of inflammatory cells both surrounding individual nurse cells and in the interstitia of IL-10/ mice versus WT mice (data not shown). The most dramatic differences, however, were apparent at 20 days p.i. (Fig. 1C and E). In IL-10/ mice (Fig. 1E), there was complete effacement of the interstitial area surrounding some nurse cells, as well as degeneration of several uninfected myotubes incarcerated by infiltrating cells. Nevertheless, by 55 days p.i., inflammation in both groups of mice had resolved (Fig. 1D and F). The composition of infiltrates was similar in the two strains, with a predominance of macrophages and smaller numbers of lymphocytes and eosinophils.
Despite the exaggerated response in the IL-10/ mice, nurse cell integrity was uncompromised. This was confirmed by assessing whole-body larval burdens. At 20 days p.i., we recovered 13,402 ± 2,638 larvae from WT mice (n = 7), compared to 13,862 ± 4,016 larvae from IL-10/ mice (n = 9). Larva burdens in muscles remained similar at 55 days p.i. (WT [n = 3], 20,826 ± 5,230; IL-10/ [n = 4], 17,790 ± 4,472). Worms recovered from IL-10/ mice were motile and morphologically identical to their counterparts recovered from WT mice (normal cuticle structure, coiled conformation, and full stichocyte [secretory organ] development). Although the infectivity of larvae recovered from the muscles of IL-10/ mice was not directly evaluated, the larvae survived pepsin-HCl digestion, a key criterion in evaluation of physical maturity and infectivity for T. spiralis. In addition, larvae resident in muscles of both groups of mice induced high titers of tyvelose-specific antibodies, confirming the secretion or excretion of tyvelose-bearing glycoproteins, a hallmark of infective first-stage larvae. Mice in both groups maintained normal body weight throughout the course of the experiments (data not shown).
Composition of cellular infiltrates associated with nurse cells. Despite the difference in intensity of inflammation in all tissues examined from WT and IL-10/ mice, the cellular composition of the infiltrates was similar: predominantly CD11b+ cells (data not shown), MHCII+ cells, and CD45+ cells (Fig. 2A), with fewer CD4+ cells and CD8+ cells and rare B220+ cells (Fig. 2B). Small clusters of syndecan-1+ plasma cells were observed in proximity to nurse cells (data not shown). MHCII+ and CD45+ cells were mononuclear and were presumed to be macrophages.
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FIG. 2. IL-10 influences the intensity but not the composition of local infiltrates. Sections of tongues recovered from WT and IL-10/ mice at 20 days p.i. were stained with antibodies. (A) Macrophages (MHCII+, CD45+) dominate the focal response around the nurse cell. (B) Infiltrating lymphocytes are largely CD4+, with fewer CD8+ T cells and rare B cells. Bars, 50 µm.
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Diaphragms of uninfected WT and IL-10/ mice were covered with an intact and normal mesothelial layer (Fig. 3i, panels A and B). Small lymphocytic foci were occasionally present in the associated adipose tissue as well as in the mesothelium of uninfected WT and IL-10/ mice. The mesothelium of WT mice at 20 days p.i. had a mild cellular infiltrate extending into lymphatic lacunae (panel C, arrow). Small lymphoid nodules present in uninfected mice were enlarged in infected WT mice (panel E). Germinal centers were evident in the nodules of WT (Fig. 3ii) and IL-10/ mice. IL-10/ mice had larger and more numerous lymphoid nodules (Fig. 3i, panel F), together with a more pronounced cellular infiltrate of the mesothelium (panel D). By 55 days p.i., enlarged lymphoid nodules and infiltrates were no longer evident in either WT or IL-10/ mice (data not shown).
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FIG. 3. Attenuation of inflammation at the surface of the diaphragm by IL-10. (i and ii) Sections of diaphragm from 20 days p.i. (dpi) were stained with H & E (i) or with monoclonal antibodies specific for B220 and CD4 (ii). (iii) Alternatively, cells were recovered from diaphragms by digestion and cell suspensions from three mice of each strain were pooled, counted, and expressed as a ratio. (i) (A and B) Normal mesothelia (arrow) cover diaphragms from uninfected WT and IL-10/ mice; (C) mild cellular infiltration of lymphatic lacuna in the diaphragm of a WT mouse (arrow); (D) pronounced cellular infiltrates and large lymphoid aggregates adhere to the diaphragm of an IL-10/ mouse; (E) enlarged lymphoid nodule from an infected WT mouse; (F) larger nodule from an infected IL-10/ mouse. (ii) CD4+ T cells (A) and B cells (B) detected in the germinal center in a nodule from infected WT mouse. The arrow in panel A indicates the diaphragm. (iii) At 20 days p.i., IL-10/ mice had nearly four times as many infiltrating cells associated with the diaphragm as did WT mice (P < 0.05). Relative cell numbers returned to the preinfection level by 100 days p.i. Bars, 100 µm [(i) A to D, (ii) A and B] and 200 µm [(i) E and F]. U, uninfected.
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= 0.05). By 100 days p.i., the ratio had returned to the preinfection value. Expansion of B- and T-cell populations in the pleural cavities in IL-10/ mice. To evaluate the body cavity response to muscle infection, cells were enumerated in pleural and peritoneal exudates collected from WT and IL-10/ mice at 0 and 20 days p.i. WT mice did not undergo significant expansion of body cavity cell populations in response to infection. IL-10/ mice demonstrated a greater than threefold expansion in the number of pleural exudate cells (P < 0.01) in response to infection (Fig. 4). Uninfected IL-10/ mice yielded greater numbers of peritoneal exudate cells than did WT mice, but this number did not change significantly on infection (P = 0.1)
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FIG. 4. Cellular response in pleural and peritoneal exudates following infection. At 0 and 20 days p.i. (dpi), pleural and peritoneal exudates were collected and cells were counted (n = 4 or 5 mice per strain). Infection induced a three fold increase in the number of pleural exudate cells in IL-10/ mice (P < 0.01). Uninfected IL-10/ mice yielded greater numbers of peritoneal exudate cells than did WT mice, but this number did not change significantly on infection (P = 0.1).
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FIG. 5. T and B cells recovered from the pleural and peritoneal cavities during muscle infection. Lymphocytes in pleural and peritoneal exudates (n = 4 or 5 mice) were enumerated by flow cytometry following staining with monoclonal antibodies to TCR beta-chain and B220 (A) or, in order to identify B-cell subsets, CD11b and B220 (B). (A) Mice lacking IL-10 showed pleural B- and T-cell populations that were expanded by six and ninefold, respectively. A modest increase in the number of B cells (P = 0.06) and a significant increase in the number of T cells (P < 0.01) were evident in the peritoneal cavities. (B) Numbers of B-2 cells (11-fold) and B-1 cells (4-fold) were expanded in the pleural cavities of IL-10/ mice following infection. In the peritoneal cavity, the number of B-2 cells expanded threefold in the absence of IL-10 while the B-1-cell population was diminished twofold following infection. Asterisks mark statistically significant changes (Student's t test). dpi, days p.i.
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FIG. 6. Antibody response to synchronized muscle infection. Serum titers of IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3, and IgM specific for somatic antigen or ESA in WT and IL-10/ mice. End-point titers were specified as the reciprocal of the last dilution before the absorbance fell below 0.1 U in ELISA. Geometric means and standard deviations for end-point titers from groups of four mice are shown.
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Antibody responses in WT and IL-10/ mice differed only in kinetics, with IL-10/ mice initiating IgG3 and IgG2a production more rapidly in the early response and IgM more rapidly in the late response. Denkers et al. (16) described the murine antibody response to oral infection with T. spiralis as biphasic. The early response is directed against phosphorylcholine, which modifies glycans on somatic glycoproteins (39), while the late response is specific for tyvelose-bearing glycoproteins found in ESA. We analyzed mouse sera from our experiments by Western blotting to determine the specificities of the antibodies produced. We found that sera collected 55 days p.i. contained antibodies specific for tyvelose-bearing glycoproteins. However, antibodies in sera collected 10 to 20 days p.i. did not bind phosphorylcholine-bearing somatic glycoproteins (data not shown). The specificity of antibodies produced between 10 and 20 days p.i. remains unknown.
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Muscle infection with T. spiralis elicited a focal cellular immune response. Nurse cells were surrounded by limited infiltrates in which macrophages were the dominant cell type. Remarkably, parasites survived in close association with macrophages, CD8+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes. It will be important to characterize the functional properties of infiltrating cells in order to understand the basis for parasite survival in what appears to be a hostile environment. Shortly after nurse cell formation was complete, the infiltrates decreased in intensity. We found that IL-10 limited the initial inflammatory response to muscle infection but was not necessary for the down-modulation observed around mature nurse cells. In a similar manner, IL-10 has been shown to control early, but not chronic, granulomatous responses to Schistosoma mansoni eggs (57).
The shift from IL-10-dependent to IL-10-independent control of inflammation was coincident with completion of parasite development in the nurse cell, together with the induction of a strong IgG1 response to tyvelose-bearing glycoproteins that are synthesized only by mature first-stage larvae. Class-switching from IgM to IgG1 is controlled by IL-4 (49), the preeminent Th2 cytokine. The induction of an IgG1 response suggests a role for Th2 cytokines in controlling inflammation during chronic infection. A mechanism for targeted activation of Th2 cells by tyvelose-bearing glycoproteins has not been elucidated, although a recent report describes Th2 bias in responses to nematode glycans (52). One outcome of an intense and prolonged IgG1 response to ESA may be modulation of macrophage function. Sutterwala et al. (51) have shown that ligation of the Fc-gamma receptor I, by IgG1 complexed to antigen, inhibits proinflammatory activities of macrophages. Furthermore, the Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 are key signals in the generation of alternatively activated macrophages, a cell type implicated in the modulation of chronic inflammation in other mouse models of helminth disease (24, 31). There is evidence that T. spiralis infection promotes alternative activation of macrophages. Macrophages recovered from the peritoneal cavities of mice infected orally with T. spiralis produce the Ym1 protein (12) and are impaired in their ability to control the growth of intracellular Toxoplasma gondii (56). These features are consistent with an alternatively activated phenotype. Muscle-stage infection with T. spiralis may polarize infiltrating macrophages toward an alternative phenotype, suppressing their destructive properties. In addition, IL-13 inhibits inflammation by enhancing the production of IL-1 receptor antagonist (35, 55) and suppressing the production of proinflammatory cytokines (21, 22). In the context of anti-inflammatory cytokines, consideration must be given to transforming growth factor ß, a potent deactivator of macrophage activity in vitro (54) that cooperates with IL-10 in the protection of mice against experimentally induced colitis (27). Our future work will investigate the function of macrophages in chronic T. spiralis infection, specifically addressing the interplay among Th2 cells, macrophages, tyvelose-bearing glycoproteins, and specific antibodies.
In our model, the effects of IL-10 are likely to be exerted at the time of immune response activation. Although it is conceivable that IL-10 deficiency causes developmental defects of the immune system, in our experiments IL-10 did not influence the cell types recruited to or retained at the site of infection; instead, it limited the intensity of the response. These observations are consistent with the known effects of IL-10 in suppressing the activity of antigen-presenting cells (9, 20, 21, 26, 40). Our results suggest that IL-10 exerts its anti-inflammatory effect in mice infected with T. spiralis by influencing the activities of large numbers of macrophages that surround infected muscle cells.
In addition to moderating inflammation surrounding the nurse cells, we found that IL-10 influenced regional inflammation during muscle infection. The unique physiology of the diaphragm (48) prompted us to examine regional responses during T. spiralis infection. We observed cellular infiltrates at the surface of the diaphragm and in the body cavities following infection. Our data indicated that aggregates and nodules observed on the surface of the diaphragm were on the pleural aspect of the muscle. We were able to recover these aggregates by enzymatic digestion and found them to be rich in B and T lymphocytes. When we recovered cavity lymphocytes by lavage, we found that IL-10 limited the expansion of B-2, B-1, and T lymphocytes in the pleural cavity. The magnitude of the response in the pleural cavity most probably was induced by the migration of NBL through the lungs (10). IL-10 controlled the expansion of pleural B-cell populations but did not yield dramatic differences in the levels of parasite-specific serum immunoglobulins, although the production of some isotypes was accelerated in IL-10/ mice. Currently, we are evaluating the contribution of B lymphocytes to immune modulation in synchronously infected, B-cell-deficient mice.
In summary, we have found that IL-10 limits the initial inflammatory response to muscle infection by T. spiralis. This inhibition is evident at the site of infection and in the pleural cavity. Although the source(s) of IL-10 was not identified, candidates include macrophages, CD4+ T cells, and B lymphocytes. Inhibition of inflammation during chronic muscle infection was shown to be IL-10 independent. The transition from IL-10-dependent to IL-10-independent control of inflammation was abrupt, coinciding with parasite maturation and the induction of a dramatic IgG1 response directed at tyvelose-bearing glycoproteins. Thus, muscle infection by T. spiralis serves as a dramatic example of a chronic infection wherein the immune response appears to be controlled in order to promote the survival of both parasite and host.
This research was supported by grant NIH-AI14490 from the National Institutes of Health. D.B. was supported by training grant T32-AI07643.
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