Is emTIP , a T-Cell immunomodulatory protein secreted by the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis important for early metacestode development?
We provide for the first time a possible explanation for the early Th1 response observed during E. multilocularis infections. Our data indicate that parasite primary cells release a T-cell immunomodulatory protein, EmTIP, capable of promoting IFN-γ release by CD4+ T-cells, which is probably driving or supporting the onset of the early Th1 response during AE. The impairment of primary cell proliferation and the inhibition of metacestode vesicle formation by anti-EmTIP antibodies suggest that this factor fulfills an important role in early E. multilocularis development within the intermediate host.
These results suggest that WNK3 enhances NCC protein expression by increasing NCC synthesis via an ERK 1/2-dependent signaling pathway.