Hookworm-induced persistent changes to the immunological environment of the lung.

ABSTRACT: A number of important helminth parasites of humans have incorporated short-term residence in the lungs as an obligate phase of their life cycles. The significance of this transient pulmonary exposure to the infection and immunity is not clear. Employing a rodent model of infection with hookworm (Nippostrongylus brasiliensis), we characterized the long-term changes in the immunological status of the lungs induced by parasite infection. At 36 days after infection, alterations included a sustained increase in the transcription of both Th2 and Th1 cytokines as well as a significant increase in the number and frequency of alveolar macrophages displaying an alternatively activated phenotype. While N. brasiliensis did not induce alternate activation of lung macrophages in STAT6(-/-) animals, the

SUBMITTER: Reece JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2493237 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature