Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Widhe, Mona
• Skogman, Barbro Hedin
• Jarefors, Sara
• Eknefelt, Mattias
• Eneström, Gunilla
• Nordwall, Maria
• Ekerfelt, Christina
• Croner, Stefan
• Bergström, Sven
• Forsberg, Pia
• Ernerudh, Jan

Titel

Up-regulation of Borrelia-specific IL-4- and IFN-γ-secreting cells in cerebrospinal fluid from children with Lyme neuroborreliosis

Ist Teil von

• International immunology, 2005-10, Vol.17 (10), p.1283-1291

Ort / Verlag

England: Oxford University Press

Erscheinungsjahr

2005

Quelle

Oxford Journals 2020 Medicine

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The clinical course and outcome of several infectious diseases are dependent on the type of immune response elicited against the pathogen. In adults with neuroborreliosis (NB), a type 1 response with high production of Borrelia-specific IFN-γ, but no IL-4, has been reported. Since children have a more benign course of NB than adults, we wanted to investigate type 1 and type 2 responses in children with NB. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood were collected from children during the acute stage of ‘confirmed NB’ (n = 34), ‘possible NB’ (n = 30) and ‘non-NB’ (n = 10). The number of Borrelia-specific IL-4- and IFN-γ-secreting cells was measured by enzyme-linked immunospot assay. Borrelia-specific secretion of both IL-4 and IFN-γ was increased in CSF in confirmed (P < 0.05) and possible (P < 0.01) NB, when compared with non-NB controls. Furthermore, children with NB had significantly higher Borrelia-specific IL-4 secretion in CSF than an adult reference material with NB (P < 0.05). There were no differences in cytokine secretion in relation to onset or recovery of neurological symptoms. Since IL-4 is known to down-regulate the pro-inflammatory and possibly harmful effects of prolonged IFN-γ responses, the prominent IL-4 response observed in the central nervous system compartment might contribute to the more benign disease course seen in children with Lyme NB.