Korean J Parasitol.  2011 Sep;49(3):235-243. 10.3347/kjp.2011.49.3.235.

Protease-Activated Receptor 2 Is Involved in Th2 Responses against Trichinella spiralis Infection

• Park MK
• Cho MK
• Kang SA
• Park HK
• Kim YS
• Kim KU
• Ahn SC
• Kim DH
• Yu HS

• KMID: 1715646
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2011.49.3.235

Abstract

In order to get a better understanding of the role of protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) in type 2 helper T (Th2) cell responses against Trichinella spiralis infection, we analyzed Th2 responses in T. spiralis-infected PAR2 knockout (KO) mice. The levels of the Th2 cell-secreted cytokines, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 were markedly reduced in the PAR2 KO mice as compared to the wild type mice following infection with T. spiralis. The serum levels of parasite-specific IgE increased significantly in the wild type mice as the result of T. spiralis infection, but this level was not significantly increased in PAR2 KO mice. The expression level of thymic stromal lymphopoietin, IL-25, and eotaxin gene (the genes were recently known as Th2 response initiators) of mouse intestinal epithelial cells were increased as the result of treatment with T. spiralis excretory-secretory proteins. However, the expression of these chemokine genes was inhibited by protease inhibitor treatments. In conclusion, PAR2 might involve in Th2 responses against T. spiralis infection.

Keyword

Trichinella spiralis; protease-activated receptor 2; IL-25; thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP)

MeSH Terms

Animals
Antibodies, Helminth/blood
Chemokine CCL11/biosynthesis
Cytokines/biosynthesis
Female
Gene Expression Profiling
Immunoglobulin E/blood
Interleukin-13/secretion
Interleukin-4/secretion
Interleukin-5/secretion
Interleukins/biosynthesis
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Knockout
Receptor, PAR-2/*metabolism
Th2 Cells/*immunology
Trichinella spiralis/*immunology
Trichinellosis/*immunology