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Immunity-mediated regulation of fecundity in the nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus – the potential role of mast cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2009

K. HASHIMOTO ,
R. UCHIKAWA ,
T. TEGOSHI ,
K. TAKEDA ,
M. YAMADA  and
N. ARIZONO
K. HASHIMOTO*
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
R. UCHIKAWA
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
T. TEGOSHI
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
K. TAKEDA
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
M. YAMADA
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
N. ARIZONO
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
*
*Corresponding author: Tel: +81 75 2515326. Fax: +81 75 2515328. E-mail: ka-hashi@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp
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Summary

Previous studies have shown that host immunity regulates the fecundity of nematodes. The present study was aimed at clarifying the reversible nature of fecundity in response to changes of immunological status and to determine which effector cells are responsible for compromising fecundity in Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Enhanced fecundity was observed in immunocompromised SCID and nu/nu mice compared to those in the corresponding wild-type mice, with significantly fewer numbers of intrauterine eggs produced in the wild-type than in the immunodeficient mice. When 14-day-old adult worms from BALB/c mice were transplanted into naïve BALB/c mice, their fecundity increased significantly as early as 24 h post-transplantation, but not when they were transferred into immune mice, suggesting the plastic and reversible nature of fecundity in response to changes in host immunological status. In mast cell-deficient W/Wv mice, nematode fecundity was significantly higher than in mast cell-reconstituted W/Wv or +/+ mice. The serum levels of the mast-cell protease mMCP1 were markedly increased in the wild-type as well as the mast cell-reconstituted W/Wv, but not in the W/Wv, SCID, or nu/nu mice during infection. These findings raise the interesting possibility that certain activities of mast cells, either directly or indirectly, regulate parasite fecundity during infection.

Keywords

Heligmosomoides polygyrusfecunditymast cellW/Wv mouse
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 137 , Issue 5 , April 2010 , pp. 881 - 887
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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