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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Cultivation of Heligmosomoides Polygyrus: An Immunomodulatory Nematode Parasite and its Secreted Products
Published on: April 6, 2015
Heligmosomoides polygyrus: influence of infection on lymphocyte subpopulations in mouse mesenteric lymph nodes
1Department of Zoology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Insights
This study investigated the immune response to Heligmosomoides polygyrus infection in mice. B lymphocyte numbers significantly increased in lymph nodes, with variations observed across different mouse strains.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Parasitology
- Nematology
Background:
- Heligmosomoides polygyrus is a common nematode parasite.
- Understanding the host immune response is crucial for controlling parasitic infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the immune response to primary H. polygyrus infection in different mouse strains.
- To investigate the dynamics of B and T lymphocyte populations during infection.
Main Methods:
- Flow cytometry was used to analyze lymphocyte populations.
- Three mouse strains (BALB/c, CBA, NIH) were infected with H. polygyrus.
Main Results:
- A significant increase in B lymphocytes was observed in mesenteric lymph nodes within the first week.
- B cell responses varied in magnitude and duration across mouse strains, with BALB/c and NIH showing stronger and more prolonged responses.
- T cell numbers increased later than B cells, and the helper to suppressor/cytotoxic T cell ratio remained constant, indicating no increase in suppressor T cells.
Conclusions:
- Mouse strain variations influence the B cell response to H. polygyrus infection.
- The observed differences in B cell responses may correlate with resistance to parasitic infections.
- There was no evidence of increased suppressor T cell activity during the primary infection.
Abstract:
The immune response to a primary infection of Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Nematospiroides dubius) was studied by flow cytometry in three strains of mice, BALB/c, CBA, and NIH. The chief feature of the response was a pronounced increase, during the first week, in the proportion of B lymphocytes in the mesenteric lymph nodes. All three strains also showed an increase in lymph node cellularity, although this was delayed in NIH and CBA mice. Total B cell numbers thus also increased, particularly in the BALB/c and NIH strains but only in the latter was this response maintained throughout the 4-week study. Although the early changes in B cell frequency were similar in all three strains, B cell responses were greatest in BALB/c mice, and most prolonged in NIH, when they persisted into the adult phase of the infection. These features distinguished them from CBA mice, and could be associated with known variations in resistance to challenge infections. An increase in T cell numbers was delayed in comparison with the changes in the B cell population, and the ratio of 'helper' to 'suppressor/cytotoxic' T cells remained more or less constant in all three strains. There was thus no evidence for an increase in the frequency of suppressor T cells in any strain of mouse.
