Concomitant helminth infection downmodulates the Vaccinia virus-specific immune response and potentiates virus-associated pathology

PH Gazzinelli-Guimarães, LFD de Freitas… - International journal for …, 2017 - Elsevier
The aim of this work was to elucidate the immunopathological mechanisms of how helminths
may influence the course of a viral infection, using a murine model. Severe virulence, a
relevant increase in the virus titres in the lung and a higher mortality rate were observed in
Ascaris and Vaccinia virus (VACV) co-infected mice, compared with VACV mono-infected
mice. Immunopathological analysis suggested that the ablation of CD8+ T cells, the marked
reduction of circulating CD4+ T cells producing IFN-γ, and the robust pulmonary …