First Author | Hou N | Year | 2015 |
Journal | Infect Immun | Volume | 83 |
Issue | 8 | Pages | 3074-82 |
PubMed ID | 25987707 | Mgi Jnum | J:229745 |
Mgi Id | MGI:5754419 | Doi | 10.1128/IAI.00517-15 |
Citation | Hou N, et al. (2015) Tim-3 induces Th2-biased immunity and alternative macrophage activation during Schistosoma japonicum infection. Infect Immun 83(8):3074-82 |
abstractText | T cell immunoglobulin- and mucin-domain-containing molecule 3 (Tim-3) has been regarded as an important regulatory factor in both adaptive and innate immunity. Recently, Tim-3 was reported to be involved in Th2-biased immune responses in mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum, but the exact mechanism behind the involvement of Tim-3 remains unknown. The present study aims to understand the role of Tim-3 in the immune response against S. japonicum infection. Tim-3 expression was determined by flow cytometry, and increased Tim-3 expression was observed on CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, NK1.1(+) cells, and CD11b(+) cells from the livers of S. japonicum-infected mice. However, the increased level of Tim-3 was lower in the spleen than in the liver, and no increase in Tim-3 expression was observed on splenic CD8(+) T cells or CD11b(+) cells. The schistosome-induced upregulation of Tim-3 on natural killer (NK) cells was accompanied by reduced NK cell numbers in vitro and in vivo. Tim-3 antibody blockade led to upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase and interleukin-12 (IL-12) mRNA in CD11b(+) cells cocultured with soluble egg antigen and downregulation of Arg1 and IL-10, which are markers of M2 macrophages. In summary, we observed schistosome-induced expression of Tim-3 on critical immune cell populations, which may be involved in the Th2-biased immune response and alternative activation of macrophages during infection. |