Folia Parasitologica 55[1] 1-6 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.001

Immune response to rabbit coccidiosis: a comparison between infections with Eimeria flavescens and E. intestinalis

Michal Pakandl1, Lenka Hlásková1, Martin Poplštein2, Marie Nevečeřalová3, Tomáš Vodička3, Jiří Salát1, Jitka Mucksová2
1 Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
2 BIOPHARM, Research Institute of Biopharmacy and Veterinary Drugs, a.s., Pohoří-Chotouň, 254 49 Jílové u Prahy, Czech Republic
3 Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Seven- to eight-week-old rabbits were infected with Eimeria intestinalis Cheissin, 1948, a highly immunogenic coccidium, or Eimeria flavescens Marotel et Guilhon, 1941, which is weakly immunogenic. Immune response was investigated at 7, 14 and 21 days post inoculation (DPI). The level of serum immunoglobulins, lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by parasite antigens and weight of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) showed similar dynamics in rabbits inoculated with both coccidia species. The amount of serum IgG and IgM, but not IgA, was increased from 14 DPI. The lymphocytes from MLN of infected animals significantly reacted to stimulation with parasite antigen 14 and 21 DPI and MLN were enlarged at 14 DPI. Thus, both parasite species elicited immune response characterized by these parameters in a similar manner despite of their different immunogenicity. The only apparent difference in the responses was in the percentage of CD8+ lymphocytes in the specific site of parasite development (the last third of the small intestine in E. intestinalis, caecum in E. flavescens), which increased in rabbits infected with E. intestinalis but not with E. flavescens. This parameter reflects the status of local immunity and hence the results suggest that the local reaction plays an important role in induction of protective immunity to coccidia in rabbits.

Keywords: rabbit coccidiosis, Eimeria intestinalis, Eimeria flavescens, immune response, ELISA, lymphocyte proliferation, intraepithelial lymphocytes

Received: July 2, 2007; Accepted: September 19, 2007; Published: March 1, 2008  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Pakandl, M., Hlásková, L., Poplštein, M., Nevečeřalová, M., Vodička, T., Salát, J., & Mucksová, J. (2008). Immune response to rabbit coccidiosis: a comparison between infections with Eimeria flavescens and E. intestinalis . Folia Parasitologica, 55(1), 1-6. doi: 10.14411/fp.2008.001
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. ALEKSANDERSEN M., LANDSVERK T., GJERDE B., HELLE O. 1995: Scarcity of gamma-delta T-cells in intestinal epithelia containing coccidia despite general increase of epithelial lymphocytes. Vet. Pathol. 32: 504-512 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    2. CERE N., LICOIS D., HUMBERT J.F. 1995: Study of inter- and intraspecific variation of Eimeria spp. from the rabbit using random amplified polymorphic DNA. Parasitol. Res. 81: 324- 328 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    3. COUDERT P., LICOIS D., PROVOT F., DROUET-VIARD F. 1993: Eimeria sp. from rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus): pathogenicity and immunogenicity of Eimeria intestinalis. Parasitol. Res. 79: 186-190 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    4. HERMOSILLA C., BUeRGER H.-J., ZAHNER H. 1999: T cell responses in calves to a primary Eimeria bovis infection: phenotypical and functional changes. Vet. Parasitol. 84: 49-64 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    5. INAGAKI-OHARA K., DEWI F.N., HISAEDA H., SMITH A.L., JIMI F., MIYAHIRA M., ABDEL-ALEEM A.S.F., HORII Y., NAWA Y. 2006: Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes sustain the epithelia barrier function against Eimeria vermiformis infection. Infect. Immun. 74: 5292-5301 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    6. LICOIS D., COUDERT P., BAHAGIA S., ROSSI G.L. 1992: Characterisation of Eimeria species in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus): endogenous development of Eimeria intestinalis Cheissin, 1948. J. Parasitol. 78: 1041-1046 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    7. LILLEHOJ H.S. 1998: Role of T lymphocytes and cytokines in coccidiosis. Int. J. Parasitol. 28: 1071-1081 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    8. LILLEHOJ H.S., MIN W., DALLOUL R.A. 2004: Recent progress on the cytokine regulation of intestinal immune response to Eimeria. Poultry Sci. 83: 611-623 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    9. NORTON C.C., CATCHPOLE J., JOYNER L.P. 1979: Redescriptions of Eimeria irresidua Kessel & Jankiewicz, 1931 and E. flavescens Marotel & Guilhon, 1941 from the domestic rabbit. Parasitology 79: 231-248 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    10. PAKANDL M., CERNIK F., COUDERT P. 2003: The rabbit coccidium Eimeria flavescens Marotel and Guilhon, 1941: an electron microscopic study of its life cycle. Parasitol. Res. 91: 304-311 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. RENAUX S., QUERE P., BUZONI-GATEL D., SEWALD B., LE VERN Y., COUDERT P., DROUET-VIARD F. 2003: Dynamics and responsiveness of T-lymphocytes in secondary lymphoid organs of rabbits developing immunity to Eimeria intestinalis. Vet. Parasitol. 110: 181-195 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    12. ROSE M.E., HESKETH P., WAKELIN D. 1992: Immune control of murine coccidiosis - CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes-T contribute differentially in resistance to primary and secondary infections. Parasitology 105: 349-354 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    13. ROSE M.E., PEPPARD J.V., HOBBS S.M. 1984: Coccidiosis: characterization of antibody responses to infection with Eimeria nieschulzi. Parasite Immunol. 6: 1-12 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    14. SCHITO M.L., CHOBOTAR B., BARTA J.R. 1998: Cellular dynamics and cytokine responses in BALB/c mice infected with Eimeria papillata during primary and secondary infections. J. Parasitol. 84: 328-337 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    15. SHI M.Q., HUTHER S., BURKHART E., ZAHNER H. 2001: Lymphocyte subpopulations in the caecum mucosa of rats after infection with Eimeria separata: early responses in naive and immune animals to primary and challenge infections. Int. J. Parasitol. 31: 49-55 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. SMITH N.C., OVINGTON K.S., DEPLAZES P., ECKERT J. 1995: Cytokine and immunoglobulin subclass responses of rats to infection with Eimeria nieschulzi. Parasitology 111: 51-57 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    17. TODD D., SINGH A.J., GREINER D.L., MORDES J.P., ROSSINI A.A., BORTELL R. 1999: A new isolation method for rat intraepithelial lymphocytes. J. Immunol. Methods 224: 111-127 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    18. WAKELIN D., ROSE M.E. 1990: Immunity to coccidiosis. In: P.L Long (Ed.), Coccidiosis of Man and Domestic Animals. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 281-306 Go to original source...

    Return to the content