Bakhshani Amin, Shirvan Sima Parande, Maleki Mohsen, Haghparast Alireza, Borji Hassan
Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020 Aug;71:101488. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2020.101488. Epub 2020 Apr 22.
Toxocariasis is considered a neglected disease despite the importance of Toxocara spp. infections for human health and is little recognized as a significant problem by public health institutions in developing countries. Epidemiological studies suggest that infection with Toxocara cati contributes to the development of allergic asthma.In the present study, we investigated the effect of T. cati infection on experimental allergic airway inflammation using murine model. BALB/c mice were infected by oral administration with 500 embryonated T. cati eggs followed by ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization and challenge to induce allergic airway inflammation. Infection with T. cati in combination with OVA treatment leads to exacerbation of pulmonary inflammation, eosinophilia, airway hyperresponsiveness, OVA specific IgE. Cytokines measurement in bronchoalveolar lavage indicated that the levels of IL-4 and IL-5 in BAL fluid significantly increased after T. cati infected, OVA treated or a combination of both. Increased level of IL-5 was measured in the lungs of T. cati-infected or OVA-treated mice compared with controls. Moreover, combining infection and OVA treatment significantly increase the level of these cytokines. A direct association between T. cati infection and asthma was found in murine model. Although a wide range of helminth species have been demonstrated to modulate allergic responses, most notably the intestinal nematode T. cati, increases airway hyperresponsiveness, lung histopathology, eosinophil recruitment, and Th2 cytokines in alum-sensitized models of airway allergy.
尽管弓蛔虫属感染对人类健康具有重要意义，但弓蛔虫病仍被视为一种被忽视的疾病，而且在发展中国家，公共卫生机构很少将其视为一个重大问题。流行病学研究表明，猫弓首蛔虫感染会导致过敏性哮喘的发生。在本研究中，我们使用小鼠模型研究了猫弓首蛔虫感染对实验性过敏性气道炎症的影响。通过口服给予500个感染性猫弓首蛔虫卵感染BALB/c小鼠，随后用卵清蛋白（OVA）致敏并激发以诱导过敏性气道炎症。猫弓首蛔虫感染与OVA处理相结合会导致肺部炎症、嗜酸性粒细胞增多、气道高反应性、OVA特异性IgE加剧。支气管肺泡灌洗中的细胞因子测量表明，在猫弓首蛔虫感染、OVA处理或两者联合处理后，BAL液中IL-4和IL-5的水平显著升高。与对照组相比，在猫弓首蛔虫感染或OVA处理的小鼠肺中检测到IL-5水平升高。此外，感染与OVA处理相结合显著增加了这些细胞因子的水平。在小鼠模型中发现猫弓首蛔虫感染与哮喘之间存在直接关联。尽管已证明多种蠕虫物种可调节过敏反应，最显著的是肠道线虫猫弓首蛔虫，在明矾致敏的气道过敏模型中会增加气道高反应性、肺组织病理学、嗜酸性粒细胞募集和Th2细胞因子。
