Immune profiles during Giardia lamblia infections in gerbils

SERRADELL, MC; GARGANTINI, PR; LUJÁN, HD.

Mendoza

Encuentro; XLVIII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular; 2012

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular

The mechanisms involved in the immune response (IR) against Giardia are not known. Previous studies suggested a Th1/Th2 mixed induction. In this work, cytokines (CKs) that characterize pro-inflammatory events, Th2 and Th17 responses and immune regulation were chosen to determine the IR induced by the parasite in the gerbil model of giardiasis. Initially, levels of IL-4 and IFN-, which are representative CKs of a Th2 and a Th1 profiles, respectively, were determined. At 28 dpi, an increase of IL-4 in the infected compared to non-infected animals was observed. To investigate the kinetics of CKs during the infection, levels of 9 representative CKs were determined by qPCR in spleen, Peyer`s patches (PP) and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) at 14 and 28 dpi. The CK profiles showed differences during the course of infection. At 14 dpi, pro-inflammatory CKs increased, together with some Th2 and Treg CKs; while at 28 dpi, IL-5 was significantly up-regulated in all tissues. In PP, this was accompanied by an increase in IL-4 and a decrease of IFN-. These results suggest that a pro-inflammatory immune response collaborate with the control of the disease at the pick of infection, and that the IR is regulated toward a Th2 profile during the resolution of the disease. These results are the basis of future studies regarding the protective effect of our recently developed anti-Giardia vaccine.