CpG Stimulates Protective Immunity In Balb/cJ Mice Infected with Larval Taenia crassiceps

• Published in: The Journal of parasitology Vol. 96; no. 5; pp. 920 - 928
• Main Authors: Aldridge, J. R, Johnson, E. C, Kuhn, R. E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lawrence, KS American Society of Parasitologists 01-10-2010; Allen Press Inc
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cysticercosis - immunology; Cysticercosis - prevention & control; Cysticercus - growth & development; Cysticercus - immunology; Cytokines; Cytokines - metabolism; Disease Models, Animal; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Female animals; Females; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; Host-Parasite Interactions - immunology; Immune response; Immunity, Cellular; IMMUNOLOGY; Immunophenotyping; Infections; Invertebrates; Larvae; Larval development; Macrophages - metabolism; Male; Male animals; Memory interference; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Monocytes; Neutrophils; Neutrophils - metabolism; Nitric oxide; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides - immunology; Parasite hosts; Parasites; Peritoneal Cavity - parasitology; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sex Factors; T lymphocytes; United States > US; California; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Larva; Mouse; Rodentia; Helmintha; Plathelmintha; Parasite; Taenia crassiceps; Cestoda; Invertebrata; Immunity
• ISSN: 0022-3395; 1937-2345
• DOI: 10.1645/GE-2483.1

Balb/cJ mice infected in the peritoneal cavity with larval Taenia crassiceps fail to mount a protective immune response. In mice, inflammatory immune responses are believed to control larval reproduction, whereas antibody-mediated responses are believed to be permissive. In the present study, mice were treated with CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG) to determine whether stimulation of the innate inflammatory response would confer increased resistance to larval growth. Female mice treated with CpG displayed a decrease in mean parasite burden by 54%, while male mice displayed a 73% reduction. Moreover, 5 of 12 CpG-treated male mice completely eliminated all larvae by 9 wk post-infection. In contrast, no female animals were found to be infection free. CpG treatment induced an increase in the transcript levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) from splenocytes and resulted in elevated levels of the proinflammatory molecules monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, MCP-3, and interleukin-6 at the site of infection. Additionally, CpG administration induced the enhanced recruitment of neutrophils and macrophages to the site of infection. The finding that both neutrophils and macrophages were recruited in significantly higher numbers in the male host as compared to the female host may explain the increased level of protection realized in male animals in response to CpG treatment.