Role of Intestinal Goblet Cells in the Expulsion of Gymnophalloides seoi From Mice

Role of intestinal goblet cells (GCs) in the expulsion of Gymnophalloides seoi was studied using 4 strains of mice, ICR, C3H/HeN, BALB/c, and C57BL/6, after infection with 200 metacercariae isolated from oysters. On day 7 postinfection (PI), significantly higher (P < 0.05) worm recovery rates (WRRs) were observed in ICR (29.5 ± 12.0%) and C3H/HeN (14.8 ± 8.2%) than in BALB/c (5.7 ± 5.3%) and C57BL/6 (0.8 ± 1.1%) mice. Alteration of the GC mucins was marked in C57BL/6 mice. On day 14 PI, 5.2 ± 5.2% and 0.6 ± 0.7% of worms were recovered only from ICR and C3H/HeN mice. When C57BL/6 mice were immunosuppressed with prednisolone, WRR on day 7 PI increased to 11.7 ± 13.9%, whereas the GC hyperplasia and mucin alteration diminished significantly. The results suggest that expulsion of G. seoi from the intestine is dependent on immune responses of the host, and GCs may be an important effector.