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[Display omitted] • Nematode-infected wild house mice reflect type-1 vs type-2 immune bias seen in experimental whip- and pinworm infections. • Th1 expansion is accompanied by a rise in IL-10+ Th1 cells irrespective of infection status. • Elevated type-2 activity in pinworm infection is paired with expanded regulatory T cells. Infections with high doses of intestinal nematodes result in protective immunity based on robust type 2 responses in most mouse lines under laboratory conditions. Here, we report on cellular responses of wild house mice from northern Germany. We detected robust Th1 responses in wild house mice naturally infected with the whipworm Trichuris muris. In contrast, mice infected with pinworms (Syphacia, Aspiculuris) reported type-2 activity by elevated IgG1 levels and eosinophil counts, but also harbored high frequencies of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, suggesting that natural whip- and pinworm infections induce distinct immunoregulatory as well as effector profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulatory T (Treg) cells are specialized immune cells with a pivotal role in the maintenance of immune homeostasis and control of inflammation. However, relatively little is known about immune regulation in the peripheral blood of dogs with primary immune-mediated thrombocytopenia or chronic enteropathy. Using flow cytometry this study investigated Treg responses in the peripheral blood of dogs with respective autoimmune or chronic intestinal diseases and demonstrated that a reduction of Treg frequencies is observed in dogs with clinical signs compared to dogs undergoing remission and healthy dogs. These findings suggest that reduced frequencies of Treg cells in peripheral blood might be causally associated with the onset and/or progression of autoimmune and chronic intestinal diseases in dogs and that measurement of regulatory T cells might represent a useful tool in the monitoring of treatment response and disease progression., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)