The lack of myelin in the mutant taiep rat induces a differential immune response related to protection to the human parasite Trichinella spiralis

Taiep rat is a myelin mutant with a progressive motor syndrome characterized by tremor, ataxia, immobility episodes, epilepsy and paralysis of the hindlimbs, accompanied with differential expression of interleukins and their receptors that correlated with the progressive demyelination that characterize this mutant. Thus, the taiep rat is a suitable model to study neuroimmune alterations. The aim of this study was to investigate the immune alterations present in the mutant taiep rat during the acute infection with Trichinella spiralis. Our results show that there is an important decrease in the number of intestinal larvae in the taiep rat when compared to the Sprague-Dawley control rats. We also found differences in the percentage of innate and adaptive immune cell profile in the mesenteric lymphatic nodes and the spleen associated to the lack of myelin in the taiep rat. Finally, a clear pro-inflammatory cytokine pattern was seen in the infected taiep rat, which may explain the decrease in larvae number. These results sustain the theory that neuroimmune interaction is a fundamental process capable of modulating the immune response, particularly against the parasite Trichinella spiralis in a model of progressive demyelination that could be an important mechanism in autoimmune diseases and parasite infection.Author summaryThe complex communication among the brain and the immune system may be certainly altered during an infection and may be determinant in the resolution of this. We analyze the immune response to a parasite in a rat model in which a demyelinization process occur naturally and found that parasite loads were reduced when comparing with control subjects and this was accompanied to changes in the systemic immune response.