Meeting Abstract

P2.21  Friday, Jan. 4  Effects of long-term calorie restriction on a secondary infection by the parasitic nematode Heligmosomoides bakeri ACOSTA, Wendy*; KRISTAN, Deborah M.; California State University San Marcos; California State University San Marcos acost017@csusm.edu

Parasitic helminthes cause chronic infections in some strains of laboratory mice (Mus musculus). Long term calorie restriction (CR) increases lifespan and enhances immune responses, but previous studies have mixed conclusions when investigating the benefits of calorie restriction during intact pathogen exposure. One study suggested CR benefited the host when it was challenged with a virus after vaccination, but others found that CR was a detriment when responding to primary nematode, bacteria or virus exposure. It is not yet known if a calorie restricted diet will benefit a host when it faces a secondary infection of a macroparasite, such as a gastrointestinal nematode. In this study we determined the effects of long term calorie restriction in mice on susceptibility to secondary intestinal helminth (Heligmosomoides bakeri) infection. We had two groups of C57BL/6 mice, one fed a restricted diet of 60% of ad libitum and the other fed ad libitum. Mice were given 125 H. bakeri larvae followed by an anti-helminth drug at 9 days post-primary infection, and then given 300 larvae for the secondary infection. At 16 days post-secondary infection, host morphology, immune response and infection intensity were measured. Preliminary results showed calorie restricted mice had enhanced infection intensity despite increased immunoglobulin G1 levels. The knowledge obtained from these findings will document physiological changes occurring in calorie restricted hosts when they are exposed to secondary parasitic infections.