Inflammatory phenotype of the nurse cell harboring Trichinella spp.

The nurse cell (NC), formed from muscle cells upon infection with the parasitic nematode Trichinella spp. constitutes a confined habitat for muscle larvae of encapsulating species. Signaling pathway-directed analysis of microarray data allowed identification of the stage of NC cell cycle arrest as being of G1-like type, accompanied by cellular senescence. In accord with the specificity of senescent cellular systems, up-regulation of pro-inflammatory molecules was also found within the NC preparations. Potential immune-related activities associated with NCs as inferred from the aforementioned analysis, are reviewed herein. Transcriptional data suggest that the NC which harbors the larvae may exhibit the following immune-related functions: (i) production of complement components, (ii) antigen presentation and phagocytosis, (iii) pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, (iv) oxidative stress generation and (v) eicosanoid synthesis.