title: Interleukin-7 enhances antimicrobial activity against Leishmania major in murine macrophages.
abstract: Recently, it has been shown that interleukin-7 (IL-7) is able to induce secretion of cytokines and tumoricidal activity by human monocytes. This study shows that treatment of murine macrophages infected with Leishmania major with IL-7 without any other stimulus reduced the percentage of infected cells, as well as the parasite burden per cell, in a dose-dependent manner to a limited degree (45% reduction of the number of amastigotes per 100 macrophages). Simultaneous treatment of macrophages with gamma interferon and IL-7 led to nearly complete (> 99%) elimination of amastigotes. Addition of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha or N omega-monomethyl-L-arginine acetate reversed the leishmanicidal effects of IL-7, and production of nitric oxide was induced in the presence of IL-7.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Klinische Mikrobiologie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gessner
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vieth
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Will
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schröppel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Röllinghoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007895:Leishmania tropica / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D015851:Interleukin-7; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D007371:Interferon-gamma