Mitigation of Toxoplasma gondii-induced ileitis by Trichinellaspiralis infection pinpointing immunomodulation

J Parasit Dis. 2022 Jun;46(2):491-501. doi: 10.1007/s12639-022-01476-4. Epub 2022 Mar 3.

Abstract

The current study sought to investigate the potential role of Trichinellaspiralis infection in the treatment of T. gondii-induced ileitis. Forty male Swiss albino mice were divided into four groups:a normal control group Igiven only phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Group II givenPBS for 28 days then infected with T. gondii cysts for the induction of gastroenteritis, Group III infected only with T. spiralis larvae, and Group IV concurrently infected with T. spiralis larvae, then 28 days post infection, enteritis was induced by oral inoculation withT. gondii cysts. Histopathologicaland immunohistochemicalassessmentswere performed to determine the levels of inflammatory markers nuclear factor- κB (NF-κB) and myeloperoxidase in the ileum samples.Theconcentrations of cytokinesIFN-γ and IL10 were measured in successive serum samples. Histological assessment revealed severe inflammatory infiltrations in ileum samples of T. gondiimonoinfected mice. In addition, the immunological assessment revealed elevated levels of IFN-γ and decreased IL10 concentrations in blood samples. Clear improvement of inflammations, besidesthe decreasedlevels of IFN-γ and increased IL10 concentrations in blood samples were detected in T. spiraliscoinfected animals.Theileal tissue revealed elevated expression of (NF-κB) and myeloperoxidase signaling, all of which were mitigated by T. spiralis coinfection. There is a possibility that regulatory T cells are immunomodulated, releasing anti-inflammatory cytokines while suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines, causing its therapeutic impact. Trichinellaspiralis infection has the potential to be used for treatment of T. gondii-induced ileitis. As a consequence of these encouraging results, T. spiralis crude and secretory-excretory antigens coated on nanoparticles are being studied in our future research.

Keywords: IFN-γ; IL10; Ileitis; MPO; NF-κB; Trichinosis.