The production and regulation of interleukin (IL) IL-13, IL-4 and interferon-gamma (IFN-³) was evaluated in 43 schistosomiasis patients with different clinical forms. Whole-blood cultures cytokine production in response to soluble egg antigen (SEA), soluble worm adult preparation (SWAP), mitogens, neutralizing antibodies or recombinant IL-13 were measured by ELISA. After SWAP stimulation, chronic patients, particularly hepatointestinals, produced higher levels of IL-4 in comparison with acute patients, suggesting the presence of a type 2 cytokine profile in these patients. Following SEA and SWAP stimulation, hepatosplenic (HS) patients showed increased levels of IFN-³ when compared with acute patients, indicating that HS disease in humans is associated with a type 1 cytokine response. The mechanisms of immune regulation are apparently different between the clinical stages of the disease, some of which are antigen-specific.
Schistosoma mansoni; cytokines; human schistosomiasis
