Immune response of gamma delta T cells in Schistosome japonicum-infected C57BL/6 mouse liver

摘要

Systematic evaluation of the role of T cells during the Schistosoma japonicum infection has not been reported, despite the fact that T cells contribute to many infectious diseases in innate immunity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to observe the properties of T cells in the liver of C57BL/6 mice infected by S.japonicum. In this report, using immuno-fluorescent histological analysis, T cells were found around hepatic granulomatous. Moreover, the flow cytometry results revealed that the percentage of hepatic T cells increased significantly after S.japonicum infection. More interestingly, a subset of CD3(-)TCR(+) cells were found and markedly increased after infection. Furthermore, expression of activation markers (CD25 and CD69) and cytokine profiles were detected in these hepatic CD3(+)TCR(+)and CD3(-)TCR(+) cells. The significantly higher level of CD69, IL-4 and IL-17 were observed in CD3(+)TCR(+) cells after infection, suggesting that CD3(+)TCR(+) cells instead of CD3(-)TCR(+) cells might play a predominant role during the infection. Finally, our results indicated that the expression of NKG2D on CD3(+)TCR(+) cells was higher than that on CD3(-)TCR(+) cells. Collectively, T cells could play an important role in the liver of C57BL/6 mouse during japonicum infection.