Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan.
Parasitology. 2010 Apr;137(5):881-7. doi: 10.1017/S0031182009991673. Epub 2009 Dec 22.
Previous studies have shown that host immunity regulates the fecundity of nematodes. The present study was aimed at clarifying the reversible nature of fecundity in response to changes of immunological status and to determine which effector cells are responsible for compromising fecundity in Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Enhanced fecundity was observed in immunocompromised SCID and nu/nu mice compared to those in the corresponding wild-type mice, with significantly fewer numbers of intrauterine eggs produced in the wild-type than in the immunodeficient mice. When 14-day-old adult worms from BALB/c mice were transplanted into naïve BALB/c mice, their fecundity increased significantly as early as 24 h post-transplantation, but not when they were transferred into immune mice, suggesting the plastic and reversible nature of fecundity in response to changes in host immunological status. In mast cell-deficient W/W(v) mice, nematode fecundity was significantly higher than in mast cell-reconstituted W/W(v) or +/+ mice. The serum levels of the mast-cell protease mMCP1 were markedly increased in the wild-type as well as the mast cell-reconstituted W/W(v), but not in the W/W(v), SCID, or nu/nu mice during infection. These findings raise the interesting possibility that certain activities of mast cells, either directly or indirectly, regulate parasite fecundity during infection.
先前的研究表明，宿主免疫调节线虫的生殖力。本研究旨在阐明免疫状态变化时生殖力的可逆性，并确定哪些效应细胞负责损害旋毛虫的生殖力。与相应的野生型小鼠相比，免疫功能低下的 SCID 和 nu/nu 小鼠观察到生殖力增强，野生型小鼠产生的子宫内卵数量明显少于免疫缺陷型小鼠。当将来自 BALB/c 小鼠的 14 日龄成年蠕虫移植到 naive BALB/c 小鼠中时，它们的生殖力早在移植后 24 小时就显著增加，但当转移到免疫小鼠中时则没有增加，这表明生殖力对宿主免疫状态变化的可塑性和可逆性。在肥大细胞缺陷型 W/W(v)小鼠中，线虫生殖力明显高于肥大细胞重建的 W/W(v)或 +/+ 小鼠。在感染期间，野生型以及肥大细胞重建的 W/W(v)小鼠的血清中肥大细胞蛋白酶 mMCP1 水平显著升高，但在 W/W(v)、SCID 或 nu/nu 小鼠中则没有升高。这些发现提出了一个有趣的可能性，即肥大细胞的某些活性，无论是直接还是间接的，都可能在感染期间调节寄生虫的生殖力。
