Biomedical subjects

E J Pearce

Publications and source records attributed to E J Pearce.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1999

Interleukin 5 (IL-5) is not required for expression of a Th2 response or host resistance mechanisms during murine schistosomiasis mansoni but does play a role in development of IL-4-producing non-T, non-B cells.

During schistosomiasis, interleukin-5 (IL-5)-dependent eosinophil responses have been implicated in immunopathology, resistance to superinfection, synergistic interactions with chemotherapeutic agents, and the inductive phase of the egg-induced Th2 response. We examined these issues in IL-5-deficient (IL-5(-/-)) mice. IL-5(-/-) and wild-type (WT) mice were indistinguishable in terms of susceptibility to primary infections and the ability to resist secondary infections. Moreover, hepatic pathology was similar in both strains apart from a relative lack of eosinophils and, during chronic infection, a significantly larger mast cell component in the granulomas of IL-5(-/-) mice. Splenocyte cytokine production in response to soluble egg antigen (SEA) or anti-CD3 revealed no significant differences except for heightened tumor necrosis factor alpha production by cells from chronically infected IL-5(-/-) mice compared to WT animals. In contrast, ionomycin-stimulated non-B, non-T (NBNT) cells from IL-5(-/-) mice produced significantly smaller IL-4 amounts than did NBNT cells from WT animals. This difference was not apparent following plate-bound anti-immunoglobulin E or SEA stimulation. The absence of IL-5 failed to affect the induction of Th2 responses in naive mice. Peritoneal exudate cells recovered from egg-injected IL-5(-/-) or WT mice produced equivalent levels of IL-4 following restimulation with SEA or anti-CD3.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Schistosoma mansoni: IL-4 is necessary for concomitant immunity in mice.

To ask whether type-2 immune responses serve an essential role in concomitant immunity, that is the prevention of superinfection with Schistosoma mansoni, we compared resistance to a challenge infection in infected wild-type (WT) mice and in infected IL-4-/- mice, which are unable to mount Th2 responses during schistosomiasis. Although WT mice are protected from superinfection, resistance is abrogated in the absence of interleukin (IL)-4. We conclude that IL-4 or IL-4-dependent responses, or both, are necessary for resistance to S. mansoni superinfection in mice.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

A divergent member of the transforming growth factor beta receptor family from Schistosoma mansoni is expressed on the parasite surface membrane.

To optimize reproductive success under the limitations determined by conditions within an individual host, parasitic helminths have evolved mechanisms that allow them to detect and respond to host factors such as species, age, sex, reproductive condition, and immune status. Using the model helminth Schistosoma mansoni, we have explored the possibility that parasitic helminths express signal-transducing receptor molecules on their surfaces. Here, we present the identification of a schistosome member of the transforming growth factor beta receptor family of cell-surface receptors, the first member of this family to be identified in a platyhelminth. The putative protein kinase domain of the schistosome receptor displays up to 58% amino acid identity to kinase domains of other type I receptor serine-threonine kinases, and contains a potential "GS domain," suggesting it is a divergent member of the type I receptor subfamily. This receptor is expressed on the surface of the parasite's syncytial tegument and expression of receptor messenger RNA and protein is up-regulated following infection of the mammalian host. The receptor protein can be isolated in a phosphorylated form from adult parasites, which together with its surface location, suggests that it functions in transducing signals across the parasite surface membrane.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1998

The initiation and function of Th2 responses during infection with Schistosoma mansoni.

Through experiments in which pro-inflammatory mediators have been neutralized in schistosomeinfected WT and IL-4 -/- mice we have been investigating the nature of the immune response that is required to allow survival during the period of acute disease that accompanies the onset of egg production by the parasitic worms. The developing picture is that of an early pro-inflammatory type-1 like response (characterized by the production of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha and NO) which in the short term is able to control the deleterious effects on the liver associated with the arrival of the eggs, followed rapidly by a potent egg-induced Th2 response which simultaneously subsumes the role of protecting the liver and downregulates the production of the inflammatory mediators, thereby averting the serious consequence associated with the continued high level production of NO. Current research is directed towards: 1) understanding how pro-inflammatory mediators are protective during schistosomiasis, and 2) elucidating the underlying mechanisms through which the Th response is biased in a Th2 direction following exposure to schistosome eggs.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Cytokine Interaction and Immune Responses during Schistosoma mansoni Infection.

Of the estimated 200 million people infected with Schistosoma, a subset develop severe life-threatening disease. Adult Schistosoma mansoni are refractory to the immune response and are long-lived, causing chronic exposure to parasite antigen. Although the adult worms themselves are not antigenically inert, it is the parasite eggs that, by accumulating in the liver and traversing the intestinal wall, place a complex series of often-conflicting demands on the host's immune system. In this article, Laura Rosa Brunet, David Dunne and Edward Pearce discuss data from experimental studies in the mouse and field studies in endemic areas that combine to suggest that it is a failure to juggle this immunological conflict that results in severe disease.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1997

IL-4 protects against TNF-alpha-mediated cachexia and death during acute schistosomiasis.

To examine the role of the Th2-type response during schistosomiasis mansoni we compared disease progression in wild type (wt), and Th2-response deficient IL-4(-/-) mice. Whereas wt C57BL/6 mice tolerate infection and develop chronic disease, IL-4(-/-) C57BL/6 animals are highly susceptible, exhibiting severe acute cachexia followed by death. Data point toward morbidity in the IL-4(-/-) C57BL/6 mice being mediated by TNF-alpha, possibly through the uncontrolled production of nitric oxide in target organs such as the ileum. We propose that IL-4 prevents severe disease during schistosomiasis by regulating macrophage activation.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Schistosoma mansoni infection induces a type 1 CD8+ cell response.

We have found that infection with the large extracellular parasite S. mansoni leads to the development of a type 1 CD8+ T cell response. While there are many poorly understood aspects of this immune response, our working hypothesis is that it functions primarily to regulate the parasite egg-antigen induced Th2 response, which itself is responsible for circumoval granunuloma formation. This view of the activity of CD8+ cells mirrors Bloom and colleagues' postulate that type 2 CD8+ cells function to regulate Th1 responses. Since it is well recognized that Th1 and Th2 cells can cross regulate each other, why should a type 1 CD8+ rather than a Th1 response be used for the regulation of the Th2 response during schistosomiasis? The answer to this may in part lie in the apparent dependence of the type 1 CD8+ cells on IL-4. Because of this, there is little likelihood for the over-production of IFN-gamma (a potentially dangerous proinflammatory cytokine) and "suppression" is provided only when needed. Th1 cells have no such dependence on IL-4 for IFN-gamma production. Current work in the laboratory is directed towards testing the various hypotheses put forward here.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Schistosoma mansoni egg-induced early IL-4 production is dependent upon IL-5 and eosinophils.

The initial immune response to Schistosoma mansoni eggs presumably results in IL-4 production, as schistosome eggs are strong Th2-inducing antigens and the differentiation of antigen-specific Th2 cells is largely dependent on the presence of IL-4 during priming of naive Th cells. Consistent with this concept, intraperitoneal injection of mice with schistosome eggs results in an upregulation of IL-4 production by peritoneal exudate cells (PECs) within 12 h. Egg-induced IL-4 is rapidly bound by its receptor, suggesting that this cytokine is utilized by a cell type present at the site of antigen deposition or is complexed to soluble receptor. The peak of early IL-4 production is accompanied by a local eosinophilia and the apparent disappearance of mast cells. Studies utilizing either IL-4, IL-5, or mast cell-deficient mice indicate that the eosinophilia is dependent on mast cells and IL-5 and independent of IL-4. Strikingly, egg-induced IL-4 production is absent in animals lacking the early peritoneal eosinophilia. Immunocytochemical analysis of PEC following egg injection indicates that the eosinophils themselves make IL-4. These data strongly suggest that egg-induced IL-5 plays an essential role in recruiting eosinophils to the site of antigen deposition and that it is these eosinophils that then directly produce early IL-4.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Type 1 CD8+ T cell responses during infection with the helminth Schistosoma mansoni.

IL-4 promotes the development of type 2 CD8+ T cells. In mice infected with the helminth Schistosoma mansoni, the Th response is overtly Th2-like, creating an environment rich in IL-4. Consequently, we examined whether CD8+ subset development in schistosome-infected mice is biased in a type 2 direction; this is of interest because CD8+ cells have been proposed to play an immunoregulatory role during schistosomiasis. Contrary to expectation, our data indicate that the CD8+ cell response in infected mice is strongly type 1-like. Thus, infection with S. mansoni leads to the development of concurrent Th2 and type 1 CD8+ cell responses. Cytokine production by type 1 CD8+ cells is dependent upon help from CD4+ cells; this helper activity can be substituted by exogenous IL-2 or IL-4. Since Th cells from infected mice make little IL-2 but large amounts of IL-4, we propose that IL-4 is likely to be the physiologic mediator of help in infected animals, a view supported by the ability of mAbs against IL-4R and IL-4 to reduce IFN-gamma production by splenocytes in vitro. CD8+ cells from infected mice are able to produce IFN-gamma in response to schistosome Ag presented by bone marrow-derived APC. A regulatory role for the CD8+ cells is implied by the observation that CD8+ cell-depleted splenocytes from infected mice exhibit increased proliferative responses and IL-4 production in response to mAb anti-CD3. These findings suggest that in mice infected with schistosomes there exists a regulatory pathway in which type 1 CD8+ cells, under the control of IL-4, dampen immunopathologic type 2 responses.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

IL-4 in schistosomiasis.

This review focuses on the role of IL-4 in the immune response which develops during infection with the trematode parasite Schistosoma mansoni. The emphasis is on our own recent studies in the mouse model.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Impairment of tetanus toxoid-specific Th1-like immune responses in humans infected with Schistosoma mansoni.

After vaccination with tetanus toxoid (TT), TT-specific immune responses in humans infected with Schistosoma mansoni were assessed. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from vaccinated infected subjects and vaccinated uninfected controls were evaluated for their ability to produce cytokines characteristic of Th1 or Th2 cells (interferon [IFN]-gamma or interleukin [IL]-4, respectively) after in vitro restimulation with TT. TT-specific IFN-gamma production by PBMC from infected subjects was inversely related to infection intensity and was significantly lower than TT-specific IFN-gamma production by control PBMC. PBMC from all of the infected subjects and 3 of the 5 controls analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction transcribed the IL-4 gene in response to TT restimulation. Together, these results suggest that S. mansoni-infected persons mount a Th2-like response to the bystander antigen TT, while uninfected persons mount a Th1- or Th0-like response.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Schistosoma mansoni in IL-4-deficient mice.

Immunopathology and immune responses to Schistosoma mansoni were examined in IL-4 -/- mice. IL-5 and IL-10 production by lymphoid cells stimulated with soluble egg antigen (SEA), peripheral eosinophilia and serum levels of soluble IL-4 receptor but not IgE were all significantly elevated over background normal levels in IL-4 -/- mice as a result of infection. Additionally, IL-10 and IL-5 in addition to IL-2 and IFN-gamma transcripts were equally evident in diseased liver tissue from infected IL-4 -/- and wild-type mice. Nevertheless, analysis of antigen-stimulated IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and IFN-gamma production by lymphoid organ cells from infected or egg-injected IL-4 -/- mice revealed a more Th1-like pattern of cytokine production (IFN-gamma > IL-5) than in (wild-type) mice in which a stronger type 2 response to SEA was detectable (IL-4, IL-5 > IFN-gamma). Despite this, at 8 and 16 weeks after infection, liver pathology, as indicated by the size, cellularity, cellular composition and collagen content of granulomas, was similar in IL-4 -/- and wild-type animals. As in wild-type animals, granuloma size at week 16 was smaller than at week 8, indicating that modulation had occurred in the absence of IL-4. Differences in pathology were seen only when eggs were experimentally embolized to the lungs, in which case IL-4 -/- mice made smaller granulomatous responses than did wild-type animals. These data clearly show that IL-4 is not necessary for the hepatic granuloma formation which occurs during experimental schistosomiasis.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Early IL-4 production by non-CD4+ cells at the site of antigen deposition predicts the development of a T helper 2 cell response to Schistosoma mansoni eggs.

Cytokines play a major role in promoting naive Th cells to differentiate into Th1 or Th2 cells. While IL-4 is recognized as the primary pro-Th2 inducing cytokine, the identity of its cellular sources during the development of a Th2 response remains unclear. We have used Schistosoma mansoni eggs, potent stimulators of Th2 responses both during the natural progression of murine schistosomiasis and when experimentally isolated and injected into normal mice, to examine IL-4 production early in the evolution of an Ag-driven Th2 response. Analysis of peritoneal exudate cells by IL-4 specific reverse transcriptase-PCR and ELISPOT, at times following i.p. egg injection in naive C57BL/6 mice, revealed a marked, transient elevation in IL-4 production at 2 to 12 h after Ag exposure. This response was temporally accompanied by eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration and mast cell disappearance. The pattern of early IL-4 production and peritoneal cell infiltration was observed in egg-injected CD4+ cell-depleted and nude C57BL/6 mice, strongly suggesting that a non-T cell is the source of early IL-4 and that the stimulus leading to the egg-induced changes in cellular composition are T cell independent. In addition to IL-4 transcripts, peritoneal exudate cells from egg-injected T cell replete or deficient mice contained IFN-gamma and IL-12 transcripts. Control i.p. PBS injections led to no or minimal cytokine gene transcription. Early IL-4 was predictive of subsequent Th2 response development since, in contrast to C57BL/6 mice, egg-injected BALB/c mice demonstrated no detectable IL-4 production at 12 h and mounted a comparatively weak egg Ag-specific Th2 response.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Surface-associated serine-threonine kinase in Schistosoma mansoni.

Existing evidence suggests that parasites of the genus Schistosoma are responsive to external stimuli derived from the host and from parasites of the opposite sex. We hypothesize that these interactions are mediated by receptors at the parasite surface. To begin to address this issue, we have employed surface labelling by biotinylation to identify and isolate the surface molecules of adult S. mansoni. Isolated surface molecules were subsequently analyzed for the presence of protein kinases, since protein kinase activity is frequently associated with signal-transducing receptors. Our results demonstrate that serine-threonine kinase activity is associated with the parasite surface and that surface proteins of 145, 125, 95 and 57 kDa became phosphorylated on serine and threonine residues under in vitro conditions. No significant tyrosine phosphorylation of surface molecules was detected, despite the presence of many tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in tegumental extracts. An additional unexpected finding of these studies was that adult schistosomes express considerably more surface molecules than previously indicated by radioiodination studies, and that the majority of these molecules are of parasite rather than host origin.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Induction of Th2 responses in infectious diseases.

Recent work on T-helper (Th) cell subset maturation has focused on defining the cellular source of early IL-4, which promotes precursor (naive) CD4+ Th cells to differentiate into Th type 2 (Th2) cells, and also on the roles of counter-regulatory cytokines, costimulatory signals, and antigen in the induction of Th2 responses. Results suggest that not all Th2 cells are equivalent in their ontogeny.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

IL-12 inhibits Th2 cytokine responses induced by eggs of Schistosoma mansoni.

In the mouse, infection with the helminth parasite Schistosoma mansoni results in the selective induction of CD4+ T lymphocytes belonging to the Th2 subset. Schistosome ova are responsible for the development of Th2 responses seen in patently infected animals and the injection of eggs s.c. into the footpad leads to the development of elevated Th2 cytokine production by T cells in the draining popliteal lymph node. Using the egg injection model, we have shown that IL-12 suppresses schistosome egg-induced Th2 responses as evidenced by decreased IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10 secretion in vitro while increasing the production of the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma. Similar responses were obtained using either total lymph node cells or purified CD4+ T cells, indicating that IL-12 acts at the T cell level. When given as a single injection IL-12 was most effective at inhibiting Th2 responses when administered 2 days after egg inoculation, a time when T cells are still in a Th0 phase. The suppression of Th2 responses induced by IL-12 was blocked when the animals were simultaneously injected with neutralizing anti-IFN-gamma mAb, either systemically or systemically plus locally. Anti-IFN-gamma also inhibited the enhancement of IFN-gamma responses induced by IL-12 but only if the mAb was administered systemically plus locally. NK cells are likely to be a major source of the immunoregulatory IFN-gamma, because the effects of IL-12 on Th2 cytokine production were suppressed in mice treated with anti-asialo-GM1 Abs. Together these results suggest that IL-12 may have potential use in preventing or treating parasite-induced pathology resulting from Th2 cytokine production.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Increased CD4+ T cell-dependent anti-erythrocyte antibody levels following the onset of parasite egg production in Schistosoma mansoni infected mice.

Anaemia has been reported to be a symptom of schistosomiasis mansoni. In other chronic infectious diseases, anti-red blood cell (RBC) antibodies have been suggested or shown to play a role in anaemia by participating in either complement or macrophage-dependent RBC elimination. To examine whether such a situation could be contributing to the anaemia of schistosomiasis, we examined RBC taken from infected mice for surface-bound antibodies. Our data show that prior to the onset of egg production infected mice have plasma haemoglobin levels that are indistinguishable from age matched controls (AMC). However, consistent with previous reports, following the initiation of egg laying, infected mice have significantly lower haemoglobin levels than AMC. Surface-bound IgM, IgG1 and IgG3 on RBC from infected mice increased markedly after egg laying began. Levels of RBC-associated IgG2b were similar on RBC from infected and normal mice. Antibody production against RBC was Th cell-dependent since it did not occur in mice depleted of CD4+ cells. Antibodies eluted from RBC of infected mice bound to isolated membranes of RBC from AMC and to a soluble extract of schistosome eggs. Furthermore, antibodies in serum from mice carrying patent infections bound to the membranes of RBC from normal mice. Taken together, these data suggest that schistosome eggs induce an antibody response which may cross react with a RBC surface antigen.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Schistosoma mansoni egg-primed Th0 and Th2 cells: failure to down-regulate IFN-gamma production following in vitro culture.

Schistosoma mansoni eggs induce a rapid and pronounced Th response which, based on cytokine secretion patterns, at day 3 post priming is Th0-like and at day 10 is Th2-like. To establish whether or not the day-3 cells have been programmed in vivo to develop into Th2 cells, they were cultured for 7 days to become in vitro equivalents of day-10 in vivo cells. Following this culture period, the population was approximately 75% CD4+, 22% CD8%, 6% B220+ and capable of producing IL-2, IFN-gamma, IL-4, -5 and -10 upon stimulation. This Th0-like status was confirmed by the observations that in response to mitogen IL-4 and IFN-gamma production are both CD(4+)-cell dependent and that IFN-gamma and IL-4 are produced concomitantly by single cells. These data suggest that Th0 cells persist in vivo, but are incapable of secreting IFN-gamma at day 10 due to an inhibitory factor which does not develop or is labile in vitro. This concept is supported by the surprising observation that day-10 LN cells, which are Th2-like immediately ex-vivo, rapidly gain the ability to secrete IFN-gamma following a short period of culture.

Animals↗