IL-6 controls susceptibility to helminth infection by impeding Th2 responsiveness and altering the Treg phenotype in vivo.

ABSTRACT: IL-6 plays a pivotal role in favoring T-cell commitment toward a Th17 cell rather than Treg-cell phenotype, as established through in vitro model systems. We predicted that in the absence of IL-6, mice infected with the gastrointestinal helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus would show reduced Th17-cell responses, but also enhanced Treg-cell activity and consequently greater susceptibility. Surprisingly, worm expulsion was markedly potentiated in IL-6-deficient mice, with significantly stronger adaptive Th2 responses in both IL-6(-/-) mice and BALB/c recipients of neutralizing anti-IL-6 monoclonal Ab. Although IL-6-deficient mice showed lower steady-state Th17-cell levels, IL-6-independent Th17-cell responses occurred during in vivo infection. We excluded the Th17 response as a factor in prote

SUBMITTER: Smith KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3992848 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature