In vivo imaging of tissue eosinophilia and eosinopoietic responses to schistosome worms and eggs

Using a sensitive transgenic reporter mouse system and in vivo biophotonic imaging techniques, we present a dynamic analysis of eosinophil responses to schistosome infection. Use of this methodology provided previously unattainable detail on the spatial and temporal distribution of tissue eosinophilia and eosinopoietic responses to schistosome worms and eggs. Dramatic hepatic and intestinal eosinophilia in response to the deposition of schistosome eggs, with accompanying eosinopoiesis in the bone marrow, was observed between weeks 8 and 10 p.i., with subsequent downregulation evident by week 11. Contrary to expectations, we also demonstrate that schistosome parasites themselves induce significant intestinal eosinophilia and eosinopoiesis in the bone marrow at very early stages during prepatent infection.