title: Effect of pretreatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin on the course of a Listeria monocytogenes infection in normal and congenitally athymic (nude) mice.
abstract: The effect of pretreatment with BCG on the course of a Listeria monomcytogenes infection was studied in nu/nu mice and in their heterozygous littermates (+/nu). First, evidence was presented that the nu/nu mice used lacked functional T cells, since BCG treatment resulted only in skin reactivity to tuberculin in +/nu mice and not in nu/nu mice. Acquired resistance to Listeria (based on lower spleen counts) was only obtained in BCG pretreated +/nu mice. Evidence was presented that BCG pretreatment in nu/nu mice failed to increase non-specific resistance, both in terms of spleen counts and survival rate. These results seem to imply that functional T cells are required for this type of non-specific resistance to heterologous antigens. In this connection attention has been drawn to the possible implication of BCG treatment in man.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001500:BCG Vaccine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D013997:Time Factors; D014374:Tuberculin Test
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine