IngentaConnect Reduced efficacy of treatment of strongyloidiasis in HTLV-I carri...

Authors: SATOH, M.¹; TOMA, H.²; SATO, Y.²; TAKARA, M.³; SHIROMA, Y.⁴; KIYUNA, S.⁴; HIRAYAMA, K.¹

Source: Clinical & Experimental Immunology, Volume 127, Number 2, February 2002 , pp. 354-359(6)

Abstract:

SUMMARY

Strongyloidiasis, a human intestinal infection caused by Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis), is difficult to cure with drugs. In particular, a decrease of the efficacy of treatment has been reported in patients dually infected with S. stercoralis and human T-cell leukaemia virus type I (HTLV-I), both of which are endemic in Okinawa, Japan. However, the factors influencing this resistance remain unclear. In the present study, patients infected with S. stercoralis, with or without HTLV-I infection, were treated with albendazole, followed up for one year and separated into two groups, cured and non-cured. The cure rate of S. stercoralis was lower in HTLV-I carriers (P < 0·05). Serum levels of S. stercoralis-specific IgA, IgE, IgG, IgG1 and IgG4 antibodies were estimated, and a decrease of IgE (P < 0·05) and an increase of IgG4 (P < 0·05) were observed in the non-cured group, especially in HTLV-I carriers. RT-PCR of cytokines using peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed that S. stercoralis patients with HTLV-I showed a high frequency of expression of IFN-γ and TGF-β1, whereas those without HTLV-I showed no expression of these cytokines. IFN-γ- and TGF-β1-positive HTLV-I carriers showed a decrease of IgE (P < 0·05), an increase of IgG4 (P < 0·01) and a lower cure rate (P < 0·01) compared with those who were negative for both cytokines. These results suggest that persistent infection with HTLV-I affected S. stercoralis-specific immunity and reduced therapeutic efficacy.

Keywords: HTLV-I; strongyloidiasis; treatment; IFN-γ TGF-β1

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2249.2002.01733.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Medical Zoology, Saitama Medical School, Moroyama, Saitama, 2: Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, 3: Gushikawa Clinic and 4: Izumizaki Hospital, Okinawa, Japan.

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Reduced efficacy of treatment of strongyloidiasis in HTLV-I carriers related to enhanced expression of IFN-γ and TGF-β1