Follicular helper T cells promote liver pathology in mice during Schistosoma japonicum infection.

Following Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) infection, granulomatous responses are induced by parasite eggs trapped in host organs, particular in the liver, during the acute stage of disease. While excessive liver granulomatous responses can lead to more severe fibrosis and circulatory impairment...

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Main Authors: Xiaojun Chen, Xiaowei Yang, Yong Li, Jifeng Zhu, Sha Zhou, Zhipeng Xu, Lei He, Xue Xue, Weiwei Zhang, Xiaoxiao Dong, Henry Wu, Carrie J Li, Hsiang-Ting Hsu, Wenjun Kong, Feng Liu, Prem B Tripathi, Michelle S Yu, Jason Chang, Liang Zhou, Chuan Su
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-05-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004097&type=printable
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Summary:Following Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) infection, granulomatous responses are induced by parasite eggs trapped in host organs, particular in the liver, during the acute stage of disease. While excessive liver granulomatous responses can lead to more severe fibrosis and circulatory impairment in chronically infected host. However, the exact mechanism of hepatic granuloma formation has remained obscure. In this study, we for the first time showed that follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are recruited to the liver to upregulate hepatic granuloma formation and liver injury in S. japonicum-infected mice, and identified a novel function of macrophages in Tfh cell induction. In addition, our results showed that the generation of Tfh cells driven by macrophages is dependent on cell-cell contact and the level of inducible costimulator ligand (ICOSL) on macrophages which is regulated by CD40-CD40L signaling. Our findings uncovered a previously unappreciated role for Tfh cells in liver pathology caused by S. japonicum infection in mice.
ISSN:1553-7366
1553-7374