Introduction: Epidemiological and animal studies indicate that helminth infections have positive effects due to their potential to protect against autoimmune diseases. Here, we aim to assess the effect of S. mansoni infection on immune modulation of human monocytes and their potential protection against autoimmune disease development both in vivo and in vitro.
Materials and Methods: Monocytes were isolated from helminth-infected Ethiopians (MHIE), and from Dutch healthy volunteers (MHV). The MHV were stimulated in vitro with S. mansoni soluble egg antigens (SEA) or soluble worm antigens (SWA). In addition, phenotypical changes were studied directly, as well as after culturing for 6 days in the presence of human serum to obtain macrophages. Q-PCR, flow cytometry, multiplex bead immunoassay, and live-cell imaging were employed during analysis.
Results: MHIE showed elevated transcripts of SOCS-1 and TNF-α compared to MHV. Similarly, MHV that were stimulated with SEA demonstrated enhanced levels of SOCS-1, IL-10, and IL-12 mRNA, compared to control MHV. Remarkably, the SEA-treated monocytes showed a much higher motility than control monocytes, a hallmark of a patrolling phenotype. Furthermore, in vitro cultured macrophages that were stimulated by SEA exhibited enhanced mRNA levels of SOCS-1, IL-10, TNF-α, IL-12 and TGF-β, compared to control macrophages.
Conclusion: Macrophages from MHIE as well as SEA-treated MHV show an intermediate activation phenotype with both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory characteristics in vitro. The observed pro-inflammatory properties might reflect a recent response of the cells due to contact with a pathogen, whereas the anti-inflammatory properties might contribute to helminth-induced protection against inflammatory diseases. Large-scale study is recommended to consolidate the findings of the present study.

Keywords: Schistosoma mansoni, immune modulation, monocytes, macrophages


中文翻译：

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人单核细胞/巨噬细胞炎症细胞因子在体内和体外马诺尼血吸虫感染后的变化。

简介：流行病学和动物研究表明，蠕虫感染具有积极作用，因为它们具有预防自身免疫性疾病的潜力。在这里，我们旨在评估S. mansoni感染对人类单核细胞免疫调节的影响及其在体内和体外对自身免疫性疾病发展的潜在保护作用。
材料和方法：从感染蠕虫的埃塞俄比亚人 (MHIE) 和荷兰健康志愿者 (MHV) 中分离出单核细胞。MHV 在体外用曼氏沙门氏菌刺激可溶性卵抗原 (SEA) 或可溶性蠕虫抗原 (SWA)。此外，直接研究表型变化，以及在人血清存在下培养 6 天后获得巨噬细胞。在分析过程中使用了 Q-PCR、流式细胞术、多重珠子免疫测定和活细胞成像。
结果：与 MHV 相比，MHIE 显示 SOCS-1 和 TNF-α 的转录物升高。类似地，与对照 MHV 相比，用 SEA 刺激的 MHV 表现出增强的 SOCS-1、IL-10 和 IL-12 mRNA 水平。值得注意的是，SEA 处理的单核细胞显示出比对照单核细胞高得多的运动性，这是巡逻表型的标志。此外，与对照巨噬细胞相比，受 SEA 刺激的体外培养的巨噬细胞表现出增强的 SOCS-1、IL-10、TNF-α、IL-12 和 TGF-β 的 mRNA 水平。
结论：来自 MHIE 和 SEA 处理的 MHV 的巨噬细胞在体外显示出具有促炎和抗炎特征的中间活化表型。观察到的促炎特性可能反映了细胞最近因与病原体接触而产生的反应，而抗炎特性可能有助于蠕虫诱导的针对炎症性疾病的保护。建议进行大规模研究以巩固本研究的结果。

关键词： 曼氏血吸虫，免疫调节，单核细胞，巨噬细胞