Ly6G+ Neutrophils and Interleukin-17 Are Essential in Protection against Rodent Malaria Caused by Plasmodium berghei ANKA

Ziwei Su; Qilong Li; Yiwei Zhang; Tong Liu; Kunying Lv; Anni Feng; Yixin Yang; Yanxin Zhang; Zhiming Wei; Xiaoyu Sang; Ying Feng; Ran Chen; Ning Jiang; Qijun Chen

doi:10.34133/research.0559

Ly6G⁺ Neutrophils and Interleukin-17 Are Essential in Protection against Rodent Malaria Caused by Plasmodium berghei ANKA

Research (Wash D C). 2024 Dec 19:7:0559. doi: 10.34133/research.0559. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Ziwei Su^{1

2}, Qilong Li^{1

2}, Yiwei Zhang^{1

2}, Tong Liu^{1

2}, Kunying Lv^{1

2}, Anni Feng^{1

2}, Yixin Yang^{1

2}, Yanxin Zhang^{1

2}, Zhiming Wei^{1

2}, Xiaoyu Sang^{1

2}, Ying Feng^{1

2}, Ran Chen^{1

2}, Ning Jiang^{1

2}, Qijun Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Livestock Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Education, and Key Laboratory of Ruminant Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (East), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China.
² Research Unit for Pathogenic Mechanisms of Zoonotic Parasites, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shenyang 110866, China.

Abstract

Neutrophils are essential in combating invading pathogens such as Plasmodium parasites, but the participation of their subpopulations and mechanisms in resistance to parasite infection are not fully understood. Our study identified a marked increase in Ly6G⁺ neutrophils in response to P. berghei ANKA infection. Depletion of these cells rendered mice more susceptible to infection. Elevated interleukin-17 (IL-17) levels, which increased the Ly6G⁺ neutrophil population, were also found to contribute to this protective effect. IL-17 depletion led to reduced neutrophil numbers and increased susceptibility. Furthermore, dihydroartemisinin (DHA) treatment enhanced neutrophil-mediated immune responses through up-regulation of CD18 and CXCR4 factors. These findings revealed key mechanisms of neutrophil and IL-17 interactions in malaria protection and highlighted DHA's potential to promote neutrophil function in combating malaria.