Although the immune responses to intestinal nematode infection have been well studied and have been shown to be strongly driven by Th2-associated cytokines in mice, such information has been limited with respect to rats. We investigated changes in levels of the mRNAs encoding interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and gamma interferon in the mesenteric lymph nodes of rats infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis by reverse transcription-PCR in comparison with immunoglobulin E

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... 2a antibody, eosinophil, basophil, and mucosal mast cell responses. In the two rat strains used, Brown Norway and Fischer-344, which show different responses to allergens, serum IgE increased to much higher levels in the former than in the latter 2 weeks after infection. Intestinal mastocytosis was observed much earlier and more intensely in Brown Norway rats than in Fischer-344 rats, but the degrees of peripheral eosinophilia and basophilia did not differ between the two strains. In both strains, IL-3, IL-4, and IL-5 mRNA expression increased and peaked around 7 to 14 days after infection, while expression of IL-2, IL-10, and gamma interferon mRNAs did not change notably throughout the experimental period. The highest IL-4 mRNA expression was observed slightly earlier in Brown Norway than in Fischer-344 rats, but levels of IL-3 and IL-5 mRNAs peaked synchronously in both strains. The amounts of mRNAs encoding these three cytokines were always higher in Brown Norway than in Fischer-344 rats. It is suggested that in rats, Th2 or Th2-like cells are also induced after nematode infection, and IgE elevation is mainly related to increased IL-4 gene expression.