Mechanismen der geschlechtsspezifischen Resistenz beim Amöbenleberabszess

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Egbert Tannich
• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: from 2006 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 34466819

• Final Report Year: 2009

Final Report Abstract

Taken together the results presented here suggest that testosterone modulates the immune response in a suppressive manner. In the context of hepatic infection of the liver with E histolytica, the observed decrease in IFN-y is likely to be responsible for the reduced ability of male mice to kill the parasite and to inhibit ALA development. Questions remain whether testosterone directly or indirectly influences the reactivity of NKT cells to produce cytokines when specifically stimulated by glycolipids and which are the signalling pathways. Moreover, future work has to investigate whether similar gender differences concerning NKT cell activation and cytokine production as found in mice are also present in humans.