Cell apoptosis induced by hookworm antigens: a strategy of immunomodulation.

In this study, we demonstrate the cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic activity of hookworm antigens in Jurkat T cells, mesenteric lymph nodes lymphocytes of healthy and hookworm-infected hamsters and during human natural infection. Our results showed that in vitrostimulation of Jurkat T cells with antigens induces a significant decrease of cell viability leading to a relevant increase of apoptotic cells. Similar results were also observed in experimental conditions, for both healthy and hookworm-infected hamsters` lymphocytes. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that hookworm-infected patients presented a significant increase of CD4+, CD8+, and CD19+lymphocytes in early and/or late apoptosis when compared with non-infected individuals. The downmodulation of TNF receptors, as well as the up-regulation of the pro-apoptotic genes belonging to the BCL-2 and P53 families, suggest that hookworm antigens induced apoptosis by an intrinsic mitochondrial pathway, acting as a sophisticated strategy to safeguard parasite long-term survival in their hosts. PMID: 23277021 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Source: Frontiers in Bioscience - Elite - Category: Biomedical Science Tags: Front Biosci (Elite Ed) Source Type: research