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. 1999 Mar;44(3):342–346. doi: 10.1136/gut.44.3.342

Giardia induces proliferation and interferon γ production by intestinal lymphocytes

E Ebert 1
PMCID: PMC1727435  PMID: 10026318

Abstract

BACKGROUND—Murine intraepithelial lymphocytes kill Giardia lambia; responses of human intestinal lymphocytes to this parasite are unknown. 
AIMS—To examine giardia induced proliferation, interferon γ production, migration, and cytotoxicity by lymphocytes from the human intestine and peripheral blood. 
METHODS—Giardia were added to intraepithelial lymphocytes, lamina propria lymphocytes, and peripheral blood lymphocytes, obtained from jejunal mucosa and blood of otherwise healthy patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity. Proliferation was measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation; frequency of proliferation precursors, by limiting dilution analysis; interferon γ production, by ELISA; cytotoxicity, by 51Cr release of radiolabelled giardia and by release of serine esterases by effector lymphocytes that mediate cytotoxicity. 
RESULTS—The CD4+ T lymphocytes from intestine and blood proliferated in response to giardia. The stimulus by the parasite was mitogenic rather than antigenic due to the fact that the peak response was on day 3 rather than day 6, and the large number of precursors was in the range of that for mitogens. CD4+ T lymphocytes from both sites produced interferon γ in response to giardia. Lymphocytes did not migrate towards or kill the parasite. 
CONCLUSIONS—Giardia induced the same degree of proliferation and interferon γ production by CD4+ T lymphocytes in intestine and blood, but did not trigger cytotoxicity or migration. 



Keywords: intraepithelial lymphocytes; lamina propria lymphocytes; parasite; chemotaxis; T cell mediated cytotoxicity; giardia

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Figure 1 .

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CD4+ T lymphocytes from LPL and PBL were combined with giardia (1 × 104) and irradiated autologous PBL (1 × 104) for 10 days. Linear regression analysis allowed an interpolation of the cell number (reciprocal of the precursor frequency) yielding 37% negative wells. 


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