Mast cells are crucial in the resistance against Toxoplasma gondii oral infection

作者：Cruz Aline; Mendes Erica Araujo; Melo de Andrade Marcus Vinicius; do Nascimento Vanuza Chagas; Cartelle Christiane T; Arantes Rosa M E; da Cunha Melo Jose Renan; Gazzinelli Ricardo Tostes; Ropert Catherine^*

来源：European Journal of Immunology, 2014, 44(10): 2949-2954.

DOI：10.1002/eji.201344185

• Mast cells
• Mucosal immunity
• Oral infection
• Th1-cell response
• Toxoplasma gondii

During oral infection, mucosal immunity assumes a predominant role. Here, we addressed the role of mast cells (MCs), which are mainly located in mucosa during oral infection with Toxoplasma gondii, using MC-deficient (W/W-v) mice. We show that in the absence of MCs the resistance of W/Wv mice to oral infection was considerably reduced. W/Wv mice uniformly succumbed within 15 days of infection after administration of cysts of the ME49 strain of T. gondii. The rapid lethality of T. gondii in W/Wv mice correlated with a delayed Th1-cell response, since IFN-gamma and IL-12 levels peaked in the later phase of the infection. In vitro, BM-derived MCs were able to recognize parasite lysate in a MyD88-dependent way, reaffirming the role of this TLR adapter in immune responses to T. gondii. The importance of MCs in vivo was confirmed when W/Wv mice reconstituted with BM-derived MCs from control mice retrieved an early strong Th1-cell response and specially a significant IL-12 production. In conclusion, MCs play an important role for the development of a protective immune response during oral infection with T. gondii.

• 出版日期2014-10