Levels of endogenous interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor in congenic mice infected with Borrelia garinii.
This study describes the levels of interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the sera and parenchymal organs of various congenic mouse strains infected with Borrelia garinii. A significant elevation of inflammatory cytokine levels was found in the organs of C3H/HeN (H-2k) and B10.BR (H-2k) mice but not in those of BALB/c mice (H-2d). Focally produced cytokines can contribute to antimicrobial defense against these organisms. High levels of IL-1 alpha were observed in the sera of C3H/HeN, B10.BR and B10 (H-2b) mice infected with B. garinii and they were associated with the presence of spirochetes in the skin. Thus, susceptible mice demonstrated a stronger cytokine response than resistant mice. This study presents in vivo evidence that B. garinii infection affects the immunopathogenesis of Lyme disease.
Isogai
H
H
Institute of Animal Experimentation, Sapporo Medical University, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kimura
K
K
Hayashi
S
S
Kubota
T
T
Fujii
N
N
Nishikawa
T
T
Kotake
S
S
Isogai
E
E
D000818:Animals; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis*
D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha