IMMUNOMODULATING PROPERTIES OF GLYCAN- MOTIFS PRODUCED BY FASCIOLA HEPATICA.

RODRIGUEZ ERNESTO; CERVI LAURA; BROSSARD NATALIE; GIACOMINI CECILIA; TERESA FREIRE

Córdoba- Los Cocos

Congreso; LXI Reunion Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología; 2013

Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología

Fasciola hepatica is a worldwide distributed helminth parasite that causes great economic losses in sheep and cattle. Recently it has been reported that F. hepatica derived antigens are able to suppress the maturation and function of dendritic cells, which could lead to the suppression of an inflammatory response Th1/Th17, allowing induction of ineffective Th2/Treg parasite clearance. The mechanisms by which F. hepatica is able to modulate the host immune response are carried out by various molecular players, some of which include the modulation of maturation or function of dendritic cells. Interestingly, there is a lot of evidence demonstrating that glycan motifs produced by various helminth parasites contribute to the evasion of the host immune system. Nevertheless, the impact of different glycan motifs in F. hepatica as well dendritic cell function is not clearly identified yet.  In this work we studied the glycan-motifs expressed by F. hepatica and evaluated their role in the modulation of the LPS-induced maturation of dendritic cells. Our results suggest that the glycoproteins play an important role in the interaction with dendritic cells. In fact, the m- periodate oxidation of a F. hepatica total extract (FhmPox) reduces its binding and internalization by dendritic cells. Also, we show that glycans are implicated in the immune modulation of dendritic cells by F. hepatica, since the inhibitory effect of F. hepatica total extract on IL-12 and IL-6 production by LPS- activated dendritic cells was not observed when these were stimulated with FhmPox. Our results indicate that glycan motifs produced by F. hepatica play an important role in the modulation of dendritic cell function.