Journal
VETERINARY IMMUNOLOGY AND IMMUNOPATHOLOGY
Volume 148, Issue 1-2, Pages 139-144Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2011.05.033
Keywords
Icelandic horses; Insect bite hypersensitivity; Allergy; FoxP3; IL-4
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Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE-mediated dermatitis caused by bites of midges from the genus Culicoides. We have shown previously that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from IBM-affected horses produce higher levels of IL-4 and lower levels of IL-10 and TGF-beta 1 than those from healthy horses, suggesting that IBH is associated with a reduced regulatory immune response. FoxP3 is a crucial marker of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Here we have determined the proportion of CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) T cells by flow cytometry in PBMC directly after isolation or after stimulation with Culicoides extract or a control antigen (Tetanus Toxoid). There were no differences between healthy and IBM horses either in the proportion of FoxP3(+)CD4(+)CD25(+) cells in freshly isolated PBMC or in the following stimulation with Tetanus Toxoid. However, upon stimulation of PBMC with the allergen, expression of FoxP3 by CD4(+)CD25(+high) and CD4(+)CD25(+dim) cells was significantly higher in healthy than in IBM horses. Addition of recombinant IL-4 to PBMC from healthy horses stimulated with the allergen significantly decreased the proportion of FoxP3 expressing cells within CD4(+)CD25(+high). These results suggest that IBM is associated with a decreased number of allergen-induced Tregs. This could be a consequence of the increased IL-4 production by PBMC of IBM-affected horses. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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