Infection with the HelminthNippostrongylus brasiliensisDoes Not Interfere with Efficient Elimination ofMycobacterium bovisBCG from the Lungs of Mice

Abstract

Infection withMycobacterium tuberculosiscontinues to be one of the major global health threats. Strong mycobacterium-specific Th1 immune responses correlate with protection, and decreased Th1 responses correlate with disease progression. In contrast, the impact of Th2 responses on the development of protective immune responses to mycobacteria remains unclear. To analyze whether ongoing Th2 responses present in the lung influence the development of a protective Th1 immune response to mycobacteria, we coinfected mice with the helminthNippostrongylus brasiliensisandMycobacterium bovisBCG. We found that the T cells from the lymph nodes of coinfected mice secreted significantly less gamma interferon than did the T cells from mice infected withM. bovisBCG after in vitro stimulation with purified protein fromM. tuberculosiswhen 10⁸CFU ofM. bovisBCG were used for the infection. This result indicates that the helminth infection reduced the Th1 immune response to the mycobacteria in the lung. However, mycobacterial clearance was not delayed in the coinfected animals. Importantly, the infection with BCG after the helminth infection did not reduce the helminth-induced Th2 response in the lung, ruling out the possibility that the lack of a reduction in bacterial clearance in the coinfected mice was due to a downmodulation of the helminth-induced Th2 response. Taken together, our results suggest that ongoing Th2 responses in the lung do not necessarily lead to increased susceptibility to mycobacterial infection.