Potential immunomodulatory effects of plant lectins in Schistosoma mansoni infection

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2014-03-13T18:51:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Reis E Potential Immunomodulatory....pdf: 727632 bytes, checksum: 4c436017589ebd87aa96d15e68b3d809 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2014-03-13T18:51:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Reis E Potential Immunomodulatory....pdf: 727632 bytes, checksum: 4c436017589ebd87aa96d15e68b3d809 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Ceará. Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular. Fortaleza, CE, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Sobral, CE, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Ceará. Faculdade de Medicina. Sobral, CE, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilHarvard School of Public Health. Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. Boston, USAFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilLectins are sugar-binding glycoproteins that can stimulate, in a non-antigen-specific fashion, lymphocytes, leading to proliferation and cytokine production. Some lectins are utilized as in vitro mitogenic lymphocyte stimulators and their use as immunomodulators against infectious diseases has been evaluated experimentally. In the experimental murine model, the immune response to schistosomiasis is Th1-like during the initial stage of infection, with a shift towards a Th2-like response after oviposition. We report the response of schistosomiasis patients' (n=37) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to stimulation by lectins, including newly isolated lectins from Brazilian flora, and by Schistosomamansoni soluble egg antigens (SEA). Cytokine production upon lectin stimulation ex vivo was assessed in PBMC supernatants, collected at 24 and 72 h, by sandwich ELISA to IL-5, IL-10, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma. In PBMC from infected patients all but one of the lectins induced a Th2-like cytokine response, characterized by elevated IL-5 production that was higher than that induced by SEA stimulation alone. Our results show that the Th2 environment present during schistosomiasis is not affected and that it may be further stimulated by the presence of lectins