Transgenic expression of a T cell epitope in Strongyloides ratti reveals that helminth-specific CD4+ T cells constitute both Th2 and Treg populations.

ABSTRACT: Helminths are distinct from microbial pathogens in both size and complexity, and are the likely evolutionary driving force for type 2 immunity. CD4+ helper T cells can both coordinate worm clearance and prevent immunopathology, but issues of T cell antigen specificity in the context of helminth-induced Th2 and T regulatory cell (Treg) responses have not been addressed. Herein, we generated a novel transgenic line of the gastrointestinal nematode Strongyloides ratti expressing the immunodominant CD4+ T cell epitope 2W1S as a fusion protein with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and FLAG peptide in order to track and study helminth-specific CD4+ T cells. C57BL/6 mice infected with this stable transgenic line (termed Hulk) underwent a dose-dependent expansion of activated CD44hiCD11ahi 2W1S-spe

SUBMITTER: Douglas B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8291758 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature