Increased basal production of interleukin-10 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in human alveolar echinococcosis

The secretion of IL-10 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and the expression of IL-10 mRNA in fractionated CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocyte subsets and non-B-non-T cells, with and without stimulation by the mitogen phytohemagglutinin-C (PHA-C) and specific Echinococcus multilocularis is (E. multilocularis) antigens, were assessed in 7 patients with alveolar echinococcosis (AE) and 6 healthy subjects. Results of studies on IL-10 were compared to those on IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-5 in the same patients and control subjects. IL-10 production was significantly higher in patient PBMC-culture supernatants than in the control group supernatants, both at the basal level and after mitogen or specific E. multilocularis antigen stimulation, Both CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocyte populations and non-B-non-T cells of AE patients and controls expressed IL-10 mRNA. Semi-quantification of IL-10 mRNA revealed a significantly higher transcript level in unstimulated-CD8(+) T cells from AE patients in comparison with CD8(+) T cells of healthy donors. PBMC from patients produced very low levels of IL-4 but the production of IFN-gamma was not significantly depressed compared to the controls. PBMC, isolated from 4 AE patients and 4 control subjects stimulated with specific E. multilocularis antigens, secreted IL-5; IL-5 mRNA was only detected in the CD4(+) lymphocyte subset, The secretion of IL-5 and the expression of IL-5 mRNA in healthy subjects could be due to the presence of nonspecific mitogenic parasitic factors. This non-specific mitogenic activity of the parasite, besides inducing a high secretion of IL-10 in patients with evolutive AE, may contribute to the lack of host control of parasite growth and to the persistence of granulomatous lesions, due to the inhibition of an efficient Th1 immune response.