Infection with Salmonella typhimurium modulates the immune response to Schistosoma mansoni glutathione-S-transferase.

Immune response polarization is controlled by several factors, including cytokines, antigen-presenting cells, antigen dose, and others. We have previously shown that adjuvants and live vectors play a critical role in polarization. Thus, immunization with the Schistosoma mansoni 28-kDa glutathione-S-transferase (Sm28-GST) in aluminum hydroxide induced a type 2 cytokine profile and the production of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1)- and IgE-specific antibodies. In contrast, mice infected with recombinant Salmonella typhimurium expressing Sm28-GST developed a type 1 cytokine profile and produced IgG2a-specific antibodies against Sm28-GST and Salmonella antigens. In this study, to determine if S. typhimurium not expressing Sm28-GST would still influence the type of the response against this antigen, we compared the profiles of the immune responses generated against Sm28-GST administered in alum in mice infected and not infected with S. typhimurium. Infected mice generated both IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies against Sm28-GST, while noninfected mice produced only IgG1 anti-Sm28-GST antibodies. Moreover, interleukin-4 (IL-4) mRNA expression in infected mice was near background levels, while gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) mRNA expression in coinfected mice was significantly higher than in mice immunized with Sm28-GST in alum only. However, after antigen-specific stimulation in vitro with Sm28-GST, levels of IL-4 and IFN-gamma cytokine production were similar in the two groups of mice. These results suggest that (i) the immune milieu produced during an infection may modify the response against an irrelevant antigen and (ii) isotype switching may be influenced by the cytokine environment of a bystander immune response, even though the specific antigen-driven cytokine production is not modified. Thus, the isotypic profile is not always an absolute reflection of the cytokines produced by antigen-specific Th cells.