Eosinophil interactions with Haemonchus contortus larvae in the ovine gastrointestinal tract.

Sheep were immunized by weekly oral infections with Haemonchus contortus for 9 weeks followed by anthelmintic treatment. They were challenged either 9 or 22 weeks later with PBS (sham controls) or one million exsheathed L3 surgically injected in the abomasum, and killed 24 h or 48 h later. Sheep challenged 9 weeks after immunization displayed varying degrees of tissue eosinophilia that showed a significant inverse relationship with the number of intra-epithelial mast cells (globule leucocytes). Close association of eosinophils with tissue larvae was observed mainly in the gastric pits (24 h) or on the mucosal surface (48 h). All L3-challenged sheep in this group had detectable globule leucocytes and tissue IL-4 mRNA, as measured by Southern blot RT-PCR. In contrast, sheep challenged 22 weeks after immunization had no detectable globule leucocytes or IL-4 mRNA and although they exhibited consistent tissue eosinophilia, eosinophils were not closely associated with tissue larvae. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of sheep sensitized and rested for 9 weeks before challenge showed that L3 surrounded by eosinophils were at varying stages of damage and structural collapse. These studies strongly indicate that eosinophils can damage and probably kill gastrointestinal nematode larvae in vivo. In addition, they also suggest that effective killing by tissue eosinophils may depend on other microenvironmental factors such as intra-epithelial mast cells and IL-4.