Cytokine profile of the laboratory animals during helminthosis
The aim of this work was to investigate a temporal profile of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-l, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-α) in the serum of rabbits infested with Passalurus ambiguous in the first 3 weeks of infestation. Our results demonstrate that infestation of experimental animals with Passalurus ambiguous (Rudolphi, 1819) lead to changes in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines level. Particularly it was shown that infestation induces an increase in the production of IL-1, IL-2, IL-10 and causes a substantial decrease of production of TNF-α at the end of first week of observation. Proinflammatory index (calculated as a ratio of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 + IL-2 + TNF-α to anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10) was within normal range during the whole period of observation after infestation with Passalurus ambiguous. Firstly it was demonstrated that at the early stages of infestation without marked signs of inflammation there is a tendency to the elevation of the IL-1 level and decreasing of IL-4 level. It was accompanied by a high ratio of the IL-1 / IL-4. In summary, determination of the concentration of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 and this ratio could be useful for dynamic control of the infestation process and effectiveness of the further therapy.