Wang Baoshan, Yao Wanling, Zhang LiLan, Jiang Lidong, Pan Jing, Chai Wenzhu, Huang Zhen, Zuo Sihan, Li Zhenpeng, Wei Yanming, Zhang Wangdong
College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
BMC Vet Res. 2025 May 3;21(1):315. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04761-5.
Cellular immunity mechanisms play a crucial role in regulating anti-parasite immunity. ICOS is one of the core factors of multitype T cell subsets involved in the regulation of immune homeostasis. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the distribution patterns of ICOS T cells in the small intestine of sheep and determine the impact of Moniezia benedeni (M. benedeni) infection on these cells.
In this study, a sheep pET-28a-ICOS recombinant plasmid was constructed, and the recombinant protein was obtained through induced expression in BL21 (DE3) cells. Furthermore, a rabbit polyclonal antibody against sheep ICOS was produced. The expression of ICOS in the sheep small intestine was analyzed using immunofluorescence and ELISA, comparing the results before and after M. benedeni infection.
The findings revealed that the purified recombinant ICOS protein had the anticipated size (14.2 kDa). The rabbit anti-sheep ICOS polyclonal antibody showed good specificity and a titer of 1:128,000. ELISA results indicated a significant increase in ICOS expression in all segments of the small intestine after M. benedeni infection (P < 0.05). The ileum exhibited the most substantial increase in expression (P < 0.001), followed by the jejunum (P < 0.05) and duodenum (P < 0.05). Immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that ICOS T cells are diffusely distributed in the intestinal epithelium and around the intestinal glands in the lamina propria of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of sheep. Moreover, after being infected with M. benedeni, the number of ICOS T cells in all intestinal segments significantly increases (P < 0.05), with the most significant increase in the intestinal epithelium of the duodenum.
These findings suggest that M. benedeni infection in sheep can stimulate the proliferation of ICOS T cells in the small intestine. This lays the foundation for future research on the role of ICOS T cells in regulating cellular immunity against parasitic infections in different segments of the small intestine.
细胞免疫机制在调节抗寄生虫免疫中起关键作用。诱导性共刺激分子(ICOS)是参与免疫稳态调节的多种T细胞亚群的核心因子之一。本实验旨在研究ICOS T细胞在绵羊小肠中的分布模式,并确定贝氏莫尼茨绦虫(M. benedeni)感染对这些细胞的影响。
在本研究中,构建了绵羊pET-28a-ICOS重组质粒,并通过在BL21(DE3)细胞中诱导表达获得重组蛋白。此外,制备了抗绵羊ICOS的兔多克隆抗体。采用免疫荧光和酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)分析M. benedeni感染前后绵羊小肠中ICOS的表达情况。
结果显示,纯化的重组ICOS蛋白具有预期大小(14.2 kDa)。兔抗绵羊ICOS多克隆抗体具有良好的特异性,效价为1:128,000。ELISA结果表明,M. benedeni感染后小肠各段ICOS表达显著增加(P < 0.05)。回肠表达增加最为显著(P < 0.001),其次是空肠(P < 0.05)和十二指肠(P < 0.05)。免疫荧光分析表明,ICOS T细胞在绵羊十二指肠、空肠和回肠固有层的肠上皮细胞和肠腺周围呈弥漫性分布。此外,感染M. benedeni后,所有肠段的ICOS T细胞数量均显著增加(P < 0.05),十二指肠肠上皮细胞中增加最为显著。
这些发现表明,绵羊感染M. benedeni可刺激小肠中ICOS T细胞的增殖。这为今后研究ICOS T细胞在调节小肠不同节段抗寄生虫感染的细胞免疫中的作用奠定了基础。