Influência da administração de extrato bruto de Necator americanus em camundongos com diabetes mellitus tipo 1

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease marked by high blood glucose levels due to the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic cells. Hygiene Hypothesis is an association between the increase in the incidence of autoimmune diseases and a decrease in contact with infectious and parasitic agents in childhood. The hypothesis of this work is that exposure to products of the hookworm Necator americanus could modulate the immune response of mice with autoimmune diabetes and improve the disease's characteristic picture. In the bioassay were used 30 female mice of the non-obese diabetic (NOD) lineage. The animals were separated into two groups with 15 individuals each: the AdEX group was treated with crude extract of N. americanus, and the control group was treated with innocuous solution (PBS). The respective solutions were given intraperitoneally three times a week. The glucose was measured weekly, and a drop of blood was removed from the tail to make blood smear blades. After 18 weeks of treatment the animals were euthanized and blood was collected. The spleen and pancreas were also collected. Blood was centrifuged and serum stored for future cytokine analysis by flow cytometry. Histological sections of the pancreas were also made for later comparison of the inflammatory infiltrate. The response to the crude helminth extract was evaluated by comparing the results between the groups in the techniques: total and relative leucometry, evaluation of the cytokine profile and immunological system cells present in the spleen, glucose levels of the animals and evaluation of the inflammatory infiltrate. The obtained results showed a trend of immunomodulation by the administered extract. In the correlation between cytokines and glycemia, it was observed that higher amounts of IL-4 and IL-10 reflected in lower glycemia rates in the animals treated with crude extract. Thus, it is concluded that the administration of N. americanus antigens in mice with autoimmune diabetes is capable of modifying aspects of the immune response, and potentially inducing a production of Th2 and / or modulatory response profile cytokines. However, the production of these cytokines proved to be incapable of preventing the infiltration of immune cells into the pancreas, but could appear to delay the progression of inflammation. For a better understanding of the immunological panorama of DM1 in the NOD experimental model treated with crude extract of N. americanus, future experiments are necessary