Cellular responses and cytokine profiles in Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infected patients

SUMMARY The impact of intestinal helminth infection, i.e. Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, on cellular responsiveness and cytokine production was investigated in young adults. Ascaris‐specific cellular responsiveness was higher in parasite‐free endemic controls than in patients infected with T. trichiura, or A. lumbricoides, or patients co‐infected with both parasites. Also, mitogen‐induced tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐12 and interferon (IFN)‐γ secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was higher in negative endemic controls than in infected individuals. Ascaris antigen‐specific production of TNF‐α, IL‐12 and IFN‐γ was low in singly Ascaris as well as in co‐infected patients, whereas secretion of IL‐10 and IL‐13 was elevated and similarly high in all patient groups. The detection of Trichuris‐specific and Ascaris‐specific IgG4 revealed significantly higher serum antibody levels in Trichuris or Ascaris patients when compared to endemic controls (P