Interleukin-25 (IL-25) Promotes Efficient Protective Immunity against Trichinella spiralis Infection by Enhancing the Antigen-Specific IL-9 Response

Abstract

ABSTRACTMammalian hosts often develop distinct immune response against the diverse parasitic helminths that have evolved for immune evasion. Interleukin-25 (IL-25), an IL-17 cytokine family member, plays a key role in initiating the protective immunity against several parasitic helminths; however, the involvement and underlying mechanisms by which IL-25 mediates immune response againstTrichinella spiralisinfection have not been investigated. Here we showed that IL-25 functions in promoting protective immunity againstT. spiralisinfection. Mice treated with IL-25 exhibited a lower worm burden and fewer muscle larvae in the later stage ofT. spiralisinfection. In contrast, mice treated with neutralizing antibody against IL-25 failed to expelT. spiraliseffectively. DuringT. spiralisinfection, intestinal IL-25 expression was rapidly elevated before the onset of IL-4 and IL-9 induction. While antigen-specific Th2 and Th9 immune responses were both developed duringT. spiralisinfection, an antigen-specific Th9 response appeared to be transiently induced in the early stage of infection. Mice into which antigen-specific T cells deficient in IL-9 were transferred were less effective in worm clearance than those given wild-type T cells. The strength of the antigen-specific Th9 immune response againstT. spiraliscould be enhanced or attenuated after treatment with IL-25 or neutralizing antibody against IL-25, respectively, correlating positively with the levels of intestinal mastocytosis and the expression of IL-9-regulated genes, including mast cell- and Paneth cell-specific genes. Thus, our study demonstrates that intestinal IL-25 promotes protective immunity againstT. spiralisinfection by inducing antigen-specific Th9 immune response.