The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Georgia Veterinary Scholars Program

GVSP Summer 2011 Scholars

Georgia Veterinary Scholar	Faculty Mentor

Kelly Cummings UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2014	Dr. Kaori Sakamoto Department of Pathology UGA College of Veterinary Medicine

Development of a murine model for intestinal helminth and Mycobacterium bovis co-infection

Kelly Cummings, Brandon Bringuel, Lindsey Megow, Llewelyn Sellers, Vanessa Ezenwa, Sarah Budischak, Andrew Moorhead, Kaori Sakamoto

Mycobacterial and intestinal helminth co-infection is a problem in veterinary species and in humans in developing countries. Previous studies have focused on the opposing immune responses induced by Mycobacterium bovis and single helminth infections; however, wild hosts are typically infected with multiple parasites, which may further alter immune dynamics. Recent work by the Ezenwa laboratory has shown that anthelminthic treatment of African buffalos leads to a reduction in pulmonary lesions due to M. bovis infection and that immune suppression caused by nematode infection can facilitate the invasion of bovine TB in buffalo. We hypothesize that intestinal helminth infection causes a shift to a T-helper type 2 (Th2) over a type 1 (Th1) response, reducing the ability of the host to control M. bovis infection. To study this interaction, we worked on developing a mouse model by infecting mice with the intestinal nematodes Heligmosomoides polygyrus and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. Mice in our initial infection group died within seven days due to septicemia. Work with the subsequent infection groups is ongoing. Once this intestinal helminth co-infection is optimized, mice will be intratracheally infected with M. bovis. Local and systemic immune responses will be analyzed by histopathology, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, lymphocyte proliferation assays, and serum cytokine analysis.