Helminth infection induces innate immune priming in plasmacytoid dendritic cells

Abstract

Heligmosomoides polygyrus co-infection is reported to have protective antiviral effects against pulmonary viral infections. To investigate a potential underlying mechanism, we infected C57BL/6 mice with H. polygyrus larvae for two weeks. Bone marrow (BM)-derived plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) were generated and stimulated with TLR agonists. We found increased expression of type 1 interferon genes (Ifnα1, Ifnα4, Ifnβ1, Mx1, Isg15), increased TNF, IL-6, IL-10 secretion, and higher expression of antigen presentation markers in BM-derived-pDCs from infected mice compared to naïve control. Our findings may partly explain the mechanism of the antiviral protection previously reported in acute helminth infections.