Functional analysis of neutrophils that infiltrated in the S.mansoni-induced hepatic granuloma

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Schistosomiasis mansoni is a chronic disease progressed after S.mansoni infection. S.mansoni is parasitic in the portal vein. The eggs produced by adult worms are embolized in the hepatic capillary blood vessels and then they form hepatic granulomas. Furthermore it progresses to liver cirrhosis finally. Neutrophils are supposed to have an important role for the hepatic granuloma formation. Then we employed mouse animal model of S.mansoni infection and neutrophil eliminating antibody to examine the functional role of neutrophil on the granuloma formation. 60 cercarias were infected in BALB/c mice intraperitoneally. Before infection or 7 weeks after infection just before egg production from adult worms, mice were injected with rat monoclonal antibody (RB6-8C5) to eliminate neutrophils. 8 or 9 weeks after infection, mouse liver was examined for histophathological examination and TNF-α production or the number of adult worms and eggs in infected mouse feces were checked. Though RB6-8C5 injections reduced the number of peripheral neutrophils dramatically but transiently, the size of formed hepatic granuloma, cells infiltrated in the granuloma, TNF-α production and the number of adult worms and eggs in the feces were not affected in the neutrophil eliminated mice as compared with control antibody injected mice. The transient elimination of neutrophils may not be sufficient to affect the granuloma formation and S.mansoni growth. We need further examinations with different doses and durations of antibody injection to remove neutrophil more completely.