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The effect of infection history on the fitness of the gastrointestinal nematode Strongyloides ratti

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2009

C. BLEAY ,
C. P. WILKES ,
S. PATERSON  and
M. E. VINEY
C. BLEAY
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
C. P. WILKES
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
S. PATERSON
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
M. E. VINEY*
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
*
*Corresponding author: School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK. Tel: +44 (0)117 928 7469. Fax: +44 (0)117 331 7985. E-mail: Mark.Viney@bristol.ac.uk
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Summary

Hosts in nature will often acquire infections by different helminth species over their lifetime. This presents the potential for new infections to be affected (particularly via the host immune response) by a host's history of previous con- or hetero-specific infection. Here we have used an experimental rat model to investigate the consequences of a history of primary infection with either Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Strongyloides venezuelensis or S. ratti on the fitness of, and immunological response to, secondary infections of S. ratti. We found that a history of con-specific, but not hetero-specific, infection reduced the survivorship of S. ratti; the fecundity of S. ratti was not affected by a history of either con- or hetero-specific infections. We also found that a history of con-specific infection promoted Th2-type responses, as shown by increased concentrations of total IgE, S. ratti-specific IgG1, rat mast cell protease II (RMCPII), IL4 (but decreased concentrations of IFNγ) produced by mesenteric lymph node cells in response to S. ratti antigen. Additionally, S. ratti-specific IgG1 was positively related to the intensity of both primary and secondary infections of S. ratti. Hetero-specific primary infections were only observed to affect the concentration of total IgE and RMCPII. The overall conclusion of these experiments is that the major immunological effect acting against an infection is induced by the infection itself and that there is little effect of prior infections of the host.

Keywords

density dependenceparasite interactionsimmuno-epidemiologyimmuno-ecology
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 136 , Issue 5 , April 2009 , pp. 567 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

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