Proportions of memory T cells and expression of their associated cytokines in lymph nodes of mice infected with Echinococcus multilocularis

Yinshi LI; Duolikun ADILAI; Bingqing DENG; Ainiwaer ABIDAN; Sheng SUN; Wenying XIAO; Conghui GE; Na TANG; Jing LI; Hui WANG; Tao JIANG; Chuanshan ZHANG

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Proportions of memory T cells and expression of their associated cytokines in lymph nodes of mice infected with Echinococcus multilocularis

VernacularTitle:多房棘球蚴感染小鼠模型淋巴结记忆性T细胞及其相关因子表达分析
Author: Yinshi LI ^{1
,

2} ; Duolikun ADILAI ^{1
,

2} ; Bingqing DENG ^{1
,

2} ; Ainiwaer ABIDAN ^{1
,

2} ; Sheng SUN ^{1
,

2} ; Wenying XIAO ^{1
,

2} ; Conghui GE ^{1
,

2} ; Na TANG ^{1
,

2} ; Jing LI ^{1
,

3} ; Hui WANG ^{1
,

2} ; Tao JIANG ⁴ ; Chuanshan ZHANG ^{1
,

2}
Author Information

1. School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830054, China
2. Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830054, China
3. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Endemic Diseases, China
4. Center for Laboratory Animals, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Alveolar echinococcosis; Echinococcus multilocularis; Lymph node; Memory T cell; Tissue-resident memory T cell
From: Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control 2025;37(2):136-143
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of Echinococcus multilocularis infection on levels of memory T (Tm) cells and their subsets in lymph nodes of mice at different stages of infection, so as to provide new insights into immunotherapy for alveolarechinococcosis. MethodsTwenty-four C57BL/6J mice aged 6 to 9 weeks were randomly divided into the infection group and the control group, of 12 mice in each group. Mice in the infection group were administered with 3 000 E. multilocularis protoscoleces via portal venous injection, while animals in the control group were administered with an equal volume of physiological saline. Three mice from each group were sacrificed 4, 12 weeks and 24 weeks post-infection, and lymph nodes were sampled and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) to investigate the histopathological changes of mouse lymph nodes in the infection group. The expression and localization of T lymphocyte surface markers CD3, CD4, and CD8 were observed in mouse lymph nodes using immunohistochemical staining. In addition, lymphocyte suspensions were prepared from mouse lymph nodes in both groups at different time points post-infection, and the levels of Tm cell subsets and their secreted cytokines were detected using flow cytometry. Results HE staining showed diffuse structural alterations in the subcapsular cortical and paracortical regions of mouse lymph nodes in the infection group 4 weeks post-infection with E. multilocularis. Immunohistochemical staining detected CD3, CD4 and CD8 expression in mouse lymph nodes in both groups. Flow cytometry revealed higher proportions of CD4⁺ Tm cells [(55.3 ± 4.8)% vs. (38.8 ± 6.1)%; t = -4.259, P < 0.05] and CD4⁺ tissue-resident Tm (Trm) cells [(57.7 ± 3.7)% vs. (34.1 ± 11.2)%; t = -3.990, P < 0.05] in mouse lymph nodes in the infection group than in the control group 4 weeks post-infection, and higher proportions of CD4⁺ Tm cells [(34.6 ± 3.2)% vs. (23.3 ± 7.5)%; t = -2.764, P < 0.05] and CD4⁺ Trm cells [(44.0 ± 1.9)% vs. (31.2 ± 1.5)%; t = -4.039, P < 0.05] in mouse lymph nodes in the infection group than in the control group 24 weeks post-infection. The proportions of CD8⁺ Tm cells were higher in the infection group than in the control group 4 weeks [(56.8 ± 2.7)% vs. (43.9 ± 5.2)%; t = -4.416, P < 0.01] and 12 weeks post-infection [(25.4 ± 2.7)% vs. (12.0 ± 2.6)%; t = -2.552, P < 0.05], while the proportions of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α⁺ CD4⁺ T cells [(15.7 ± 5.0)% vs. (49.4 ± 6.4)%; t = 7.150, P < 0.01], TNF-α⁺CD8⁺ T cells [(20.7 ± 5.5)% vs. (57.5 ± 8.4)%; t = -6.694, P < 0.01], and TNF-α⁺ CD8⁺ Tm cells [7.0% (1.0%) vs. 31.0% (11.0%); Z = -2.236, P < 0.05] were lower in the infection group than in the control group 24 weeks post-infection. Conclusions Tm cells levels are consistently increased in lymph nodes of mice at different stages of E. multilocularis infection, with Trm cells as the predominantly elevated subset. The impaired capacity of CD8⁺ Tm cells to secrete the effector molecule TNF-α in mouse lymph nodes at the late-stage infection may facilitate chronic parasitism of E. multilocularis.