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Winkler, Cecilia, 2021. Cytokine production in equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells induced by SvSXP, a Strongylus vulgaris excretory/secretory protein. Second cycle, A2E. Uppsala: SLU, Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics (until 231231)

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Abstract

The most pathogenic intestinal parasite in horses is Strongylus vulgaris (large bloodworm). When a horse becomes infected with S. vulgaris, the larva penetrates the intestinal wall and migrates through the horse's blood vessels. The parasite can cause serious injuries that can lead to severe colic and, in the worst case, death. Horses have been routinely dewormed since the 1970s, but in 2007, restrictions of deworming were introduced as increased resistance to some drugs (anthelmintics) was found in small bloodworms, cyathostomins. To be able to fight bloodworms and reduce the use of anthelmintics, a research project at the VH-faculty, SLU aims to develop a vaccine against S. vulgaris. When horses are infected with S. vulgaris, a type 2 immune response is activated in which the cytokines IL-4, IL-5, IL-9 and IL-13 are produced.
The purpose of the present study was to perform an in vitro experiment to investigate effects of parasite-derived excretory/secretory (ES) proteins on the cytokine gene expression. Equine blood leukocytes (PBMC) were used to analyze gene expression (up-regulation) for the following cytokines IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9, IL-10, IL-13, TNF-α, TSLP, and IFN-γ to monitor the immune profile. First, attempts to extract ES-proteins to be used in the in vitro assays were made from different larval stages of cyathostomins because the access to S. vulgaris larvae was small compared to the number of cyathostomins. These attempts however failed, and therefore a recombinant S. vulgaris protein, SvSXP, was evaluated using equine PBMC. Different concentrations of SvSXP (0.1; 0.25; 0.5; 0.75 μg/ml) were used and qPCR was applied to examine whether the cytokines genes were upregulated.
Since no ES-proteins could be recovered from cyathostomin L3 larvae, only data from cytokine induction by the recombinant protein SvSXP is reported. Of the cytokines tested, upregulation of IL-9 and IFN-γ was observed, indicating a SvSXP-induced immune response in equine PBMCs. Thus, the SvSXP protein shows potential for further evaluation as an antigen in the development of a vaccine against S. vulgaris.

Main title:Cytokine production in equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells induced by SvSXP, a Strongylus vulgaris excretory/secretory protein
Authors:Winkler, Cecilia
Supervisor:Fossum, Caroline and Hellman, Stina
Examiner:Åbrink, Magnus
Series:UNSPECIFIED
Volume/Sequential designation:UNSPECIFIED
Year of Publication:2021
Level and depth descriptor:Second cycle, A2E
Student's programme affiliation:VY001 Agricultural Science Programme - Animal Science 270 HEC
Supervising department:(VH) > Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics (until 231231)
Keywords:Strongylus vulgaris, equine, cytokine, cyathostomins, vaccine, SvSXP
URN:NBN:urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-16770
Permanent URL:
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-16770
Subject. Use of subject categories until 2023-04-30.:Animal diseases
Language:English
Deposited On:15 Jun 2021 06:42
Metadata Last Modified:16 Jun 2021 01:02

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