Background: The protective response developed against Trichinella spiralis infection provokes immune and inflammatory responses mediated by cytokines released from T helper cells. We aimed to evaluate the effect of albendazole or myrrh on the expression of IFN-γ and IL-10 in BALB/c mice infected with T. spiralis.
Methods: This study was done at the Animal House of Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University (Assiut, Egypt) from April to December 2015. Mice were infected with 300 T. spiralis larvae and treated with albendazole (50 mg/kg per day) or myrrh (500 mg/kg per day) for 3 consecutive days post-infection (pi). The expression of INF-γ and IL-10 was detected in the intestinal tissue by reverse transcription (RT) PCR.
Results: The expression of IFN-γ in mice treated with albendazole and myrrh was detected on days 3 and 15 pi respectively. In the control group, it was found on days 5, 10, 15 and 20 pi with the highest expression on day 15 pi. The expression of IL-10 was detected on days 3, 20 pi in the albendazole and myrrh treated groups, respectively. In the control group, IL-10 expression appeared on days 5 and day 20 pi.
Conclusion: The target of albendazole and myrrh on the profile of IFN-γ and IL-10 on these cytokines were encouraging to reinforce their therapeutic use against trichinellosis.
Keywords: Albendazole; IFN-γ; IL-10; Myrrh; Trichinella spiralis.