Enhancement of Disease and Pathology by Synergy of Trichuris Suis and Campylobacter Jejuni in the Colon of Immunologically Naive Swine

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni, a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis, has different age distribution and disease expression in developing and developed countries, which may be due to the endemnicity of infection and the age of acquisition of immunity. Differences in disease expression are not solely dependent on the C. jejuni strain or virulence attributes. Another modulating factor in developing countries may be endemic nematode infections such as Trichuris, which drive type 2 cytokine responses and down-regulate type 1 immune responses. In this study, three-day-old germfree pigs given dual infections with Trichuris suis and C. jejuni had more frequent, more severe diarrhea and severe pathology than pigs given no pathogens, only T. suis, or only C. jejuni. These pigs had significant hemorrhage and inflammatory cell infiltrates in the proximal colon where adult worms were found, and abscessed lymphoglandular complexes in the distal colon with intracellular C. jejuni. Pigs given only C. jejuni had mild clinical signs and pathology, and bacteria in feces or extracellular sites. Pigs given T. suis or no pathogens had no disease and minimal pathology. Thus, these agents synergized to produce significant disease and pathology, which was site specific.

The effect of a diet with fructan-rich chicory roots on intestinal helminths and microbiota with special focus on Bifidobacteria and Campylobacter in piglets around weaning

“…excretion level, which supports previous suggestions that parasites can facilitate pathogen invasion. Germ-free piglets given co-infections of C. jejuni and T. suis thus had more severe diarrhoea and pathology than pigs with single infections (Mansfield et al, 2003). Although diarrhoea was absent in this study, the helminth-inoculated piglets had softer faeces than non-inoculated piglets.…”

Passage of Campylobacter jejuni through the chicken reservoir or mice promotes phase variation in contingency genes Cj0045 and Cj0170 that strongly associates with colonization and disease in a mouse model

“…jejuni strains, media and growth conditions. C. jejuni strains used in this study included human disease isolates NCTC11168 (ATCC 700819) (Parkhill et al, 2000), 81-176 (Bacon et al, 2000), 33292 [American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Manassas, VA] (Mansfield et al, 2003) and two genetically marked mutants derived from 11168 designated KanR4 (kanamycin-resistant) and CamR2 (chloramphenicol-resistant) (Wilson et al, 2003). Construction of strains KanR4 and CamR2 has been described previously (Wilson et al, 2003(Wilson et al, , 2010.…”

Concurrent Infection with an Intestinal Helminth Parasite Impairs Host Resistance to EntericCitrobacter rodentiumand EnhancesCitrobacter-Induced Colitis in Mice

“…In contrast, infection with the helminth, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis failed to alter the Th1 response and immunopathology induced by a coinfection with a protozoan parasite (Toxoplasma gondii) (21). There is also evidence to support the hypothesis that helminth infection causes impaired immune response to concurrent viral, bacterial, and parasite infections, as well as vaccination (1,2,5,26,28,34). Although an imbalanced Th1/Th2 immune response after helminth infection has been suggested to play a role in immune modulation, in the real world when multiple infections are established or vaccines are administered to parasite-infected individuals, the interactions between the responses induced between helminths and other pathogens are more complex and are not fully understood.…”