Thecooperative relationship between chemotherapy and the host immune response in immunosuppressed or immunostimulated mice infected with Fasciola hepatica

Shin, Sung-shik; Kim, Cheol-hee

Korean Journal of Veterinary Research 2000;40(3):575-585.

Sung-shik Shin¹, Cheol-hee Kim²

¹College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonnam National University
²Kwangju City Institute of Health & Environment Department of Veterinary Research

면역억압 또는 면역활성된 마우스에 간질(Fasciola hepatica)을 감염시킨 후 관찰되는 약물요법과 숙주의 면역기전과의 상호협력관계

신성식¹, 김철희²

¹전남대학교 수의과대학 수의학과 및 동물의학연구소
²광주광역시 보건환경연구원 가축위생연구부

Abstract

This study was performed to observe the influence of host immune response on the chemotherapy of mice experimentally infected with Fasciola hepatica. Following immunosuppression with prednisolone or immunoenhancement with Freund's complete adjuvant(FCA), mice were experimentally infected with 3 Fasciola hepatica metacercariae and treated with closantel at 1 week post infection. In the group of mice infected with metacercariae alone, 2 mice of 10 were dead at 10 weeks post infection(20% mortality), and adult flukes were recovered from the liver and the peritoneal cavity of the remaining 8 mice(100% infectivity). In the group of mice treated with prednisolone and infected with metacercariae, 8 of 10 mice died before euthanasia with a mean time of death earlier than the control group (p<0.05). In the group of immunosuppressed mice infected with metacercariae and treated with closantel 20mg/kg, 4 of 10 mice died before sacrifice. In the group of mice infected and treated with closantel 20mg/kg, mortality and infectivity was 10% and 30%, respectively. Similar results were observed in mice infected and treated with closantel 5mg/kg which resulted in 10% and 50% mortality and infectivity, respectively. These results indicated that the efficacy of closantel treatment was decreased in immunosuppressed mice, while the pathogenicity was increased. In immunoenhanced mice infected with metacercariae, on the other hand, the efficacy of chemotherapy with both 5mg/kg or 20mg/kg closantel resulted in only 10% infectivity. The results shown in this study strongly suggest that a close interaction between chemotherapy against F hepatica with closantel and the host immune system exists. Considering that fascioliasis is a zoonosis, treatment regimen against the infection to immunosuppressed patients may require a concurrent prescription of an appro-priate immuno-enhancing adjuvant.

Key Words: Fasciola hepatica, chemotherapy, immunosuppression, closantel, immunoenhancement