Immune response impairment, genotoxicity and morphological transformation induced by Taenia solium metacestode.

Abstract In chronic helminthic infections such as cysticercosis, where the parasites live for years, profound modulation of the host immune response has been reported. To evaluate the genotixicity of a drug used to treat cysticercosis, we observed the occurence of genetic damage in cultured lymphocytes from cysticercotic swine and patients who had not been exposed to the drug. The human lymphocytes also showed a slower proliferation. These data suggested that the disease itself was promoting genetic damage in host lymphocytes which, in part, could explain the retardation of the lymphocyte proliferation observed in cysticercotic patients. Pigs infected with Taenia solium cysticerci showed an increased lymphocyte proliferation for 6–8 weeks post infection, followed by an impaired proliferation after this period. Significant induction of sister-chromatid exchanges was also observed in lymphocytes from infected pigs after the 6th week post infection. Additionally, it was found that a factor secreted by the cysticerci morphologically transformed primary fibroblasts in culture. The results strongly suggest that the parasite produces genetic instability in the host cells, which would result in immunosuppression and malignant transformation of target cells.