Syphacia obvelata antigens alter the FOXP3/RORɣt expression balance in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells of IBD patients

TL;DR

This study shows that antigens from Syphacia obvelata can increase the FOXP3/RORɣt ratio in immune cells from IBD patients, suggesting potential anti-inflammatory effects.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that S. obvelata antigens can modulate FOXP3 and RORɣt gene expression in IBD patient PBMCs.

Findings

FOXP3 expression increased significantly after treatment with all S. obvelata antigens.

RORγt expression decreased significantly in two antigen groups.

The FOXP3/RORγt ratio increased significantly after 24 hours of antigen exposure.

Abstract

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) arises from disrupted interactions among intestinal microbiota, epithelial cells, and the immune system, which are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. A critical factor in IBD pathogenesis is the balance between FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) and RORγt+ Th17 cells; a decreased Treg/Th17 ratio can lead to inflammation. Syphacia obvelata may help modulate immune responses by promoting Th2 responses and enhancing Treg populations, potentially impacting FOXP3 and RORγt expression and aiding IBD management. In this study, peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) from 6 IBD patients were treated with S. obvelata antigens (ES-Ag, S-Ag, and ES/S-Ag) for 24 h. Optimal concentrations and time points were determined via the MTT assay. Total RNA was extracted, cDNA was synthesized, and RT-qPCR was performed using FOXP3 and RORγt primers. The gene expression fold changes and FOXP3/RORγt ratios were compared to the control group. Results showed that FOXP3 expression was increased significantly after treatment with all S. obvelata antigens, including ES-Ag, S-Ag, and ES/S-Ag, whereas the expression of RORγt decreased significantly in just two groups, including ES-Ag and ES/S-Ag. Eventually, the FOXP3/RORγt gene expression fold change ratio was increased significantly after 24 h of exposure to S. obvelata antigens. Our study indicates that the ES-Ag, S-Ag, and ES/S-Ag of S. obvelata, along with their combination, can increase the FOXP3/RORɣt ratio in PBMCs from patients with IBD, suggesting anti-inflammatory effects. This finding offers hope that these antigens could be an eye-opener for developing future strategies for IBD treatment.

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