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Infect. Immun., Dec 1996, 5061-5065, Vol 64, No. 12
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology

In utero exposure to Onchocerca volvulus: relationship to subsequent infection intensity and cellular immune responsiveness

LH Elson, A Days, M Calvopina, W Paredes, E Araujo, RH Guderian, JE Bradley and TB Nutman
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.

Afro-Ecuadorian individuals from an area where Onchocerca volvulus is hyperendemic have been monitored for infection over the past 16 years. To determine whether in utero exposure to O. volvulus biases a child's subsequent immune responses, children (9 to 16 years old) for whom the mother's infection status was known were chosen for study. Children of infected mothers (n = 19) had significantly higher levels of skin microfilariae than children of uninfected mothers (n = 13; P = 0.021). While the serum levels of O. volvulus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgG subclasses, and IgE showed no significant differences between the two groups of children, peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children of infected mothers produced higher levels of Th2-type cytokines to several parasite antigens and lower levels of Th1-type cytokines to nonparasite antigens than those of children of uninfected mothers. Thus, in utero exposure to O. volvulus has a long-term effect on the child's subsequent cellular immune response that may render the child more susceptible to O. volvulus infection postnatally.

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