ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Due to increased anthelmintic resistance, alternative methods to drugs are necessary to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs). Some of the most promising alternatives are based on the immune response of the host, such as the selection of genetically resistant breeds or the use of vaccines against these parasites. Given the limited information available on the immune response against GINs in goats, this study investigated the local immune response of goat kids of an indigenous Canary Islands breed (Majorera breed) experimentally infected with Teladorsagia circumcincta, one of the most pathogenic and prevalent GIN species. METHODS: For this purpose, the relationship between different parasitological (number of mature and immature worms, worm length, and number of intrauterine eggs) and immunological parameters at the local level (related to both the humoral and cellular immune response) was analyzed at early (1 week post-infection [wpi]) and late (8 wpi) stages of infection. RESULTS: Primary infection of goat kids with T. circumcincta infective larvae (L3) generated a complex immune response that could be defined as Th2 type, characterized by increased infiltration in abomasal tissues of several effector cells as well as a progressive presence of specific antibodies against parasitic antigens in the gastric mucus. Cellular responses were evidenced from 1 wpi onward, showing an increase in antigen-presenting cells and various lymphocyte subsets in the gastric mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: The complexity of the host response was evidenced by statistically significant changes in the number of all these subpopulations (MHCII+, CD4+, CD8+, γδ+, CD45R+, IgA+, and IgG+), as well as in the evolution of the relative cytokine gene expression. From a functional point of view, negative associations were observed between the number of most of the immune cells (CD4, IgA, IgG, and CD45R cells) and parameters that could be related to the fecundity of worms, a phenomenon that was especially evident when the number of IgG and CD45R cells or the specific IgA levels of the gastric mucus were compared with parasitological parameters such as the female worm length or fecal egg counts at 8 wpi.