Frantz Fabiani Gai, Rosada Rogério Silva, Turato Walter Miguel, Peres Camila Matias, Coelho-Castelo Arlete Aparecida Martins, Ramos Simone Gusmão, Aronoff David Michael, Silva Célio Lopes, Faccioli Lúcia Helena
Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas e Bromatológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo-Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2007 Oct;77(4):691-8.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis and helminth infections coincide geographically and are classically described as TH1 and TH2 pathologies. There is much interest in exploring how concurrent worm infections might alter immune responses to mycobacterial infection. To explore this issue, mice were infected with Toxocara canis and co-infected with M. tuberculosis. Mice infected with M. tuberculosis had high numbers of neutrophils and mononuclear cells within the alveolar spaces, with increased parenchymal interferon (IFN)-gamma levels. However, in Toxocara-infected mice we detected increased eosinophil numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and increased parenchymal levels of interleukin (IL)-5. In co-infected mice the BALF demonstrated enhanced eosinophil influx with decreased neutrophil and mononuclear cell accumulation. However, co-infected mice had similar mycobacterial proliferation in their lungs accompanied by similar histopathological changes and similar cytokine/nitric oxide production compared with Mycobacterium-only-infected mice. Our results suggest that T. canis infection does not necessarily lead to increased susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis.
结核分枝杆菌感染与蠕虫感染在地理分布上存在重合，传统上被描述为Th1和Th2型病理状态。人们对探究同时发生的蠕虫感染如何改变对分枝杆菌感染的免疫反应非常感兴趣。为了探讨这个问题，研究人员用犬弓首蛔虫感染小鼠，并使其同时感染结核分枝杆菌。感染结核分枝杆菌的小鼠肺泡腔内有大量中性粒细胞和单核细胞，实质内干扰素-γ水平升高。然而，在感染犬弓首蛔虫的小鼠中，我们检测到支气管肺泡灌洗液（BALF）中嗜酸性粒细胞数量增加，实质内白细胞介素-5水平升高。在同时感染的小鼠中，BALF显示嗜酸性粒细胞流入增强，中性粒细胞和单核细胞积累减少。然而，与仅感染结核分枝杆菌的小鼠相比，同时感染的小鼠肺部有相似的分枝杆菌增殖，伴有相似的组织病理学变化和相似的细胞因子/一氧化氮产生。我们的结果表明，犬弓首蛔虫感染不一定会导致对肺结核易感性增加。
