Folia Parasitologica 46[2] 91-95 (1999)

Cytokine response to infection with the microsporidian, Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Pavlína Braunfuchsová¹, Jan Kopecký^1,2, Oleg Ditrich^1,2, Břetislav Koudela^1,2

¹ Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic

² Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic

The production of three cytokines, interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin 10 (IL-10) and interleukin 12 (IL-12), was measured after intraperitoneal infection of immunocompetent Balb/c mice and immunodeficient SCID mice with the microsporidian, Encephalitozoon cuniculi Levaditi, Nicolau et Schoen, 1923. High levels of IFN-γ were detected in ex vivo cultures of peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) of Balb/c mice, a lower, but earlier IFN-γ response was observed in PEC from SCID mice. The early IL-10 response was detected in ex vivo cultures of splenocytes from Balb/c but not from SCID mice, explaining a delay in the IFN-γ response in Balb/c mice. IL-12 was detected in PEC cultures from SCID mice, indicating an alternative pathway of IFN-γ production by NK cells stimulated by IL-12 derived from macrophages.

Keywords: microsporidia, Encephalitozoon, cytokines, SCID mice

Received: August 19, 1998; Accepted: October 19, 1998; Published: June 1, 1999  Show citation