Sharafeldin A, Hamadien M, Diab A, Li H, Shi F, Bakhiet M
Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital (F-82), S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden.
Scand J Immunol. 1999 Sep;50(3):256-61. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3083.1999.00600.x.
Cytokines are important signalling proteins, which have been shown to contribute to immunopathogenesis of several inflammatory and infectious diseases such as African trypanosomiasis. The present study was conducted in order to evaluate the early induction of five potential cytokines in the central nervous system (CNS) and spleens from Trypanosoma brucei brucei (T. b. brucei)-inoculated and uninfected control Sprague-Dawley rats. In brain, choroid plexus and spleen, cytokine levels were examined by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, while ELISA was used to measure cytokine levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Our results showed that interferon (IFN)-gamma and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta were highly expressed in all compartments, but low interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha mRNA levels were registered. The pattern of these cytokines is in context with the severity of the disease because (i) IFN-gamma was previously demonstrated to promote parasite growth (ii) TNF-alpha was previously demonstrated to kill the parasites and (iii) IL-4 was previously demonstrated to promote antibody production necessary for elimination of the infection. These data support the hypothesis that cytokines may have a role in developing the disease either by enhancing the parasite growth or by suppressing the immune response.
细胞因子是重要的信号蛋白，已被证明在几种炎症和感染性疾病（如非洲锥虫病）的免疫发病机制中起作用。本研究旨在评估接种布氏布氏锥虫（T. b. brucei）和未感染的对照斯普拉格-道利大鼠的中枢神经系统（CNS）和脾脏中五种潜在细胞因子的早期诱导情况。在脑、脉络丛和脾脏中，通过原位杂交和免疫组织化学检测细胞因子水平，而酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）用于测量脑脊液（CSF）中的细胞因子水平。我们的结果表明，干扰素（IFN）-γ和转化生长因子（TGF）-β在所有组织中高表达，但白细胞介素（IL）-4、IL-10和肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）-α的mRNA水平较低。这些细胞因子的模式与疾病的严重程度相关，因为（i）先前已证明IFN-γ促进寄生虫生长，（ii）先前已证明TNF-α杀死寄生虫，（iii）先前已证明IL-4促进消除感染所需的抗体产生。这些数据支持细胞因子可能通过增强寄生虫生长或抑制免疫反应在疾病发展中起作用的假设。
