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. 2010 Aug 15;202(3):399-405.
doi: 10.1086/653828.

Increases in levels of schistosome-specific immunoglobulin E and CD23(+) B cells in a cohort of Kenyan children undergoing repeated treatment and reinfection with Schistosoma mansoni

Carla L Black  1 , Erick M O Muok, Pauline N M Mwinzi, Jennifer M Carter, Diana M S Karanja, W Evan Secor, Daniel G Colley
Affiliations

Increases in levels of schistosome-specific immunoglobulin E and CD23(+) B cells in a cohort of Kenyan children undergoing repeated treatment and reinfection with Schistosoma mansoni

Carla L Black et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Age prevalence curves for areas in which schistosomiasis is endemic suggest that humans develop partial immunity to reinfection beginning in early adolescence. We conducted a 2-year longitudinal study to determine whether children infected with Schistosoma mansoni develop protection-related immune responses after treatment with praziquantel and whether the development of these immune responses is accelerated by frequent treatment after reinfection.

Methods: Children (8-10 years old) were tested for S. mansoni every 4 months and treated with praziquantel when positive (arm A; n=68) or were tested and treated at the end of the 2-year follow-up period (arm B; n=49).

Results: Children in arm A who remained free of infection during follow-up had significantly higher baseline levels of schistosome-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) than did children with > or =2 repeat diagnoses of S. mansoni infection. Children with > or =2 repeat diagnoses of S. mansoni infection had significantly increased levels of anti-schistosome IgE and CD23(+) B cells after receiving > or =3 praziquantel treatments over the course of follow-up. No increase in either parameter was seen in children who received only the baseline praziquantel treatment.

Conclusions: B cell activation and anti-schistosome IgE are associated with resistance to S. mansoni in children, and these immunological parameters can be increased by multiple rounds of infections and praziquantel-induced cures.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None reported

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of S. mansoni infection at each follow-up timepoint in Arm A
Figure 2
Figure 2
Anti-SWAP IgE at baseline and 2-year follow-up in Arms A and B
Figure 3
Figure 3
Anti-SWAP IgE at baseline and final follow-up in Arm A, stratified by the number of PZQ treatments received during the 2-year follow-up. *Difference in baseline anti-SWAP between 0 and ≥2 diagnoses groups p<0.05; # Difference between baseline and final bleed p<0.05 by Wilcoxon paired test.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percent CD19+/CD23+ cells at baseline and 2-year follow-up in Arms A and B
Figure 5
Figure 5
Percent CD19+/CD23+ cells at baseline and final follow-up, stratified by the number of PZQ treatments received during the 2-year follow-up
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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