It has been proposed that CD30, a member of the tumour
necrosis factor (
TNF) receptor superfamily, is preferentially up-regulated on Th2-type human T cells. In order to investigate a correlation between
infection with Echinococcus multilocularis and CD30 expression, we analysed regulation of CD30
mRNA, a variant form of CD30
mRNA (CD30v) and
CD30 ligand (CD30L)
mRNA expression on PBMC from patients with
alveolar echinococcosis (AE) using
reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In PBMC of patients with AE as well as healthy donors, spontaneous expression of CD30L
mRNA and the CD30v
mRNA could be detected. However, the intact form of CD30
mRNA could be detected neither in freshly isolated PBMC of patients nor in PBMC of healthy individuals. Expression of CD30L
mRNA and the variant form of CD30
mRNA was frequently detected at individual time points during 72 h of culture of PBMC stimulated with crude Echinococcus
antigen. In contrast to CD30v or CD30L
mRNA expression, induction of CD30
mRNA expression was detected only in three out of six (50%) healthy donors and in 10 out of 21 (48%) patients with
alveolar echinococcosis after 72 h of incubation. As a control, mitogenic stimulation of PBMC of both healthy individuals and infected patients led to expression of intact CD30
mRNA within 24 h of culture. These data demonstrate the different expression of two different forms of CD30
mRNA in PBMC of human individuals. The specific induction of CD30 expression is correlated only in rare cases with the clinical status of patients with AE, indicating the lack of a general induction of CD30
mRNA in this Th2-type-dominated helminthic disease. The data provide further evidence that the CD30 receptor is not an exclusive marker for a Th2-type response.