ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the effects of TGF-β1 on T lymphocytes of BALB/c mice infected with Echinococcus granulosus( E.granulosus ) in vitro.Methods: The inhibitor group:the spleen cells of BALB/c mouse were co-cultured with E.granulosus and SB525334.The control group:the spleen cells of BALB/c mouse were co-cultured with E.granulosus and PBS.The blank group:the spleen cells of BALB/c mouse were co-cultured with RPMI-1640 medium and SB525334.The lymphocytes were collected at 48 h post-infection.The T lymphocyte subsets, the number of CD4+CD25+T cells, the number of NK cells, and the expression of NKG2D receptor were detected by flow cytometry.The NK cell activity was determined with the lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay(LDH).Results:The inhibition the TGF-β1 receptors resulted in the increase of in the number of CD4+T cells,the decrease in the number of CD8+T cells,the increase of in the ratio CD4+/CD8+T cells,the decrease of in the number of CD4+CD25+T cells,the increase in the expression of the NKG2D receptors,the increase in the lysis rate of Yac-1 cells by NK cells,and a positive cor-relation between the expression of activity receptor NKG2D and killing activity of NK, which were mediated by E.granulosus.Conclusion: The inhibition of TGF-β1 receptors can enhance the immune response of T lymphocytes against E.granulosus infection in vitro.