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Histopathological changes following primary, secondary and repeated infections of rats with Strongyloides ratti , with special reference to tissue eosinophils
Author(s) -
MOQBEL R.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
parasite immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1365-3024
pISSN - 0141-9838
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3024.1980.tb00040.x
Subject(s) - eosinophil , biology , immunology , degranulation , immune system , in vivo , nippostrongylus brasiliensis , small intestine , pathology , asthma , medicine , endocrinology , biochemistry , receptor , microbiology and biotechnology
Summary The histopathological responses to the nematode Strongyloides ratti have been studied in rats following single and multiple percutaneous infections. Under these conditions, rats developed an effective immune response which was shown to be retrophasic, i.e. during primary infection, adult worms in the small intestine were the main target of the response: during secondary infection, the intestinal and, more strongly, the pulmonary phases were affected; following multiple infections, the response was principally effective during the cutaneous phase. An increase in the number of tissue eosinophils in all these sites was a common feature which varied according to the level of immunity acquired by the host. There was an increase in the percentage of degranulated mesenteric mast cells which coincided with the expulsion of the intestinal phase during primary and secondary infections. No direct contact between eosinophils and any stage of the parasite was seen in the small intestine or lungs of normal and immune rats during primary and secondary infections. However, in the skin of hyperimmune rats, eosinophils increased rapidly (within 3–6 h) forming eosinophil‐rich granulo‐mata in which eosinophils were seen in close contact with the cuticle of the invading larvae. This may suggest an in vivo effector role for these cells. This and other possible roles of eosinophils in vivo have been discussed in the light of the in vitro action of eosinophils in other parasitic systems. Both the tissue eosinophil response and the percentage of degranulation of mesenteric mast cells, during the intestinal phase, were affected following treatment with corticosteroids.