Table 1.
Baseline and immunological characteristics of newborns of A. lumbricoides-infected and non-infected mothers. Values are frequencies (separated by /), percentages (%), and median (range in brackets). Geohelminth infections intensities represent median eggs per gram of stool (range).
| Characteristic | Infected (N=14) |
Non-infected (N=14) |
|---|---|---|
|
| ||
| Race/Ethnicity | ||
| Mestizo/Afro-Ecuadorian/Amerindian | 10/3/1 | 10/3/1 |
|
| ||
| Gender | ||
| Male/Female | 8/6 | 6/8 |
|
| ||
| Maternal age, years | 28 (16-30) | 24 (16-36) |
| Birth weight, kg | 3,350 (2.400-4,800) | 3,300 (2,800-4,000) |
| Gestational age, weeks | 40 (37-42) | 40 (34-42) |
| APGAR at 5 minutes | 9 (8-9) | 9 (8-10) |
|
| ||
| Monthly family income (US$) | 150 (80-450) | 120 (30-400) |
| Maternal educational level | ||
| % completed primary | 79% | 86% |
| Crowding (persons/household) | 6.5 (4-12) | 5 (2-12) |
|
| ||
| Maternal infection status | ||
| Any | 100% | 0% |
| A. lumbricoides | 100% | 0% |
| Infection intensity | 6,650 (70-28,280) | 0 (0-0) |
| T. trichiura | 79% | 0% |
| Infection intensity | 630 (70-1,890) | 0 (0-0) |
| Hookworm | 29% | 0% |
|
| ||
| Maternal antibodies | ||
|
| ||
| Total IgE (IU/mL) | 742 (33-3,029) | 448 (28-3,494) |
| Ascaris-specific IgE (kU/L) [%] | 2.4 (0.4-12.8) [78.6%] | (0.4-4.1) [57.1%] |
| A. lumbricoides-specific IgG1 | 2 (1-445) [100%] | 1 (0-73) [86%] |
| A. lumbricoides-specific IgG4 | 5 (0-533) [93%] | 1 (1-107) [100%] |
| Cord blood antibodies | ||
| Total IgE (IU/mL) [%] | 0.2 (0.2-32.7) [43%] | 0.2 (0.2-0.5) [36%] |
| Ascaris-specific IgE | <0.35 [0%] | <0.35 [0%] |
| A. lumbricoides-specific IgG1 | 2 (1-541) [100%] | 4 (0-155) [92%] |
| A. lumbricoides-specific IgG4 | 2 (0-455) [57%] | 2 (0-167) [71%] |
|
| ||
| Frequencies of cytokine-expressing | ||
| CD4+ T cells* | ||
| Newborn | ||
| IL-4 | 20 (2-320) | 13 (5-156) |
| IFN-γ | 70 (19-4,120) | 31 (4-651) |
| Ratio IFN-γ/IL-4 | 7.2 (0.4-118.9) | 2.9 (0.3-8.1) |
| Maternal | ||
| IL-4 | 38 (8-1,366) | 12 (2-524) |
| IFN-γ | 63 (13-313) | 29 (2-218) |
| Ratio IFN-γ/IL-4 | 1.3 (0.1-11.3) | 1.8 (0.1-18.2) |
*
Frequencies of cytokine-expressing CD4+ T cells (per 105 lymphocytes) after stimulation with A. lumbricoides antigen