Development of delayed hypersensitivity responses in Mycobacterium lepraemurium infections in resistant and susceptible strains of mice.
C57Bl mice are relatively resistant to a moderate subcutaneous infection with Mycobacterium lepraemurium while BALB/c mice are much more susceptible. Cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity reactions which develop in the first 3 weeks of infection were compared in these two strains of mice. Both strains gave a peak of delayed hypersensitivity between 6 and 10 days after infection which was followed by a period of low reactivity before the development, in the third week, of a stable persistent delayed hypersensitivity reaction. There was no difference between the strains in the size at 24 h of the delayed hypersensitivity reaction but the reactions differed in their kinetics. The low resistance strain, BALB/c, gave a Jones-Mote-type of response while the high resistance strain gave a response which could be described as a tuberculin-type reaction.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000473:pathology; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C / Q000276:immunology*; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL / Q000276:immunology*; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D009167:Mycobacterium lepraemurium; D012882:Skin Tests