Salmonella typhimurium infections in mice deficient in interleukin-4 production: role of IL-4 in infection-associated pathology.
Mice harboring mutations in the IL-4 gene (IL-4(-/-)) were infected with a range of Salmonella typhimurium HWSH derivatives using different routes of infection. Compared with IL-4(+/+) mice, IL-4(-/-) mice exhibited a delayed time to death following infection with wild-type S. typhimurium HWSH. Groups of IL-4(+/+) mice infected with S. typhimurium HWSH purE, a less virulent derivative, showed sporadic deaths and harbored micro- or macroabscesses in their tissues, particularly associated with the liver. However, IL-4(-/-) mice infected with similar doses of S. typhimurium HWSH purE bacteria were resistant to killing and failed to develop detectable abscesses. Abscess formation in IL-4(-/-) mice could be induced by i.v. administration of rIL-4 during the S. typhimurium HWSH purE infection. The immune response in both IL-4(-/-) and IL-4(+/+) mice was of the Th1-type. Viable salmonella bacteria could be found associated with abscesses. Both IL-4(-/-) and IL-4(+/+) mice were resistant to killing by S. typhimurium aroA.
Everest
P
P
Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College of Science Technology, and Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Allen
J
J
Papakonstantinopoulou
A
A
Mastroeni
P
P
Roberts
M
M
Dougan
G
G
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology
D015847:Interleukin-4