Involvement of IL-18 in the expansion of unique hepatic T cells with unconventional cytokine profiles during Schistosoma mansoni infection

PLoS One. 2014 May 13;9(5):e96042. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096042. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Infection with schistosomes invokes severe fibrotic granulomatous responses in the liver of the host. Schistosoma mansoni infection induces dramatic fluctuations in Th1 or Th2 cytokine responses systemically; Th1 reactions are provoked in the early phase, whilst Th2 responses become dominant after oviposition begins. In the liver, various unique immune cells distinct from those of conventional immune competent organs or tissues exist, resulting in a unique immunological environment. Recently, we demonstrated that S. mansoni infection induces unique CD4+ T cell populations exhibiting unconventional cytokine profiles in the liver of mice during the period between Th1- and Th2-phases, which we term the transition phase. They produce both IFN-γ and IL-4 or both IFN-γ and IL-13 simultaneously. Moreover, T cells secreting triple cytokines IFN-γ, IL-13 and IL-4 were also induced. We term these cells Multiple Cytokine Producing Hepatic T cells (MCPHT cells). During the transition phase, when MCPHT cells increase, IL-18 secretion was up-regulated in the liver and sera. In S. mansoni-infected IL-18-deficient mice, expansion of MCPHT cells was curtailed. Thus our data suggest that IL-18 produced during S. mansoni infection play a role in the expansion of MCPHT cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Interleukin-18 / genetics
  • Interleukin-18 / metabolism*
  • Liver / immunology*
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Liver / parasitology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Schistosoma mansoni
  • Schistosomiasis mansoni / immunology*
  • Schistosomiasis mansoni / metabolism
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • T-Lymphocytes / parasitology

Substances

  • Interleukin-18

Grants and funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research Number 24790402 (to K.A.), 25670204 (to S.H.), (http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/index.html), a Health Labour Sciences Research Grant (H20-Shinkoh-Ippan-016, H23-Shinkoh-Ippan-014 to S.H.) (http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/), and the Global COE Program, Nagasaki University, supported by MEXT (to S.H.) (http://www-sdc.med.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/gcoe/activities/publication/200901_e.html, http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-globalcoe/index.html). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.