Host resistance against Listeria monocytogenes is reciprocal during the course of infection in alymphoplastic aly mutant mice.
The aly is a unique spontaneous autosomal recessive mutation in mice that causes a systemic defect of lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. We investigated host resistance against Listeria monocytogenes infection in the mutant. The 50% lethal dose of L. monocytogenes in aly/aly mice was 10-fold higher than their heterozygotes, termed aly/+mice, or their wild-type C57BL/6 mice. The bacterial growth in the spleens and livers of aly/aly mice was more efficient early in infection, and their listericidal activity of peritoneal macrophages was higher than those of aly/+mice. In contrast, the complete elimination of bacteria from the spleens and livers of infected mice in the late stage of infection, in which a T-cell-dependent mechanism is required, was delayed in the aly/aly mice. Moreover, an acquired resistance against secondary infection with L. monocytogenes was markedly diminished in the aly/aly mice. The production of endogenous interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), which are critical in antilisterial resistance, was reduced in the aly/aly mice during the infection. The production of IFN-gamma, and interleukin-4 was also diminished in the spleen cell cultures of aly/aly mice when stimulated with heat-killed L. monocytogenes or the T-cell receptors were directly stimulated with anti-CD3-epsilon monoclonal antibody. These results suggest that acquired immunity against L. monocytogenes infection is attenuated in aly/aly mice, and that the insufficient production of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha might be involved in the immunodeficiency.
Nishikawa
S
S
Department of Bacteriology, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan.
Nakane
A
A
D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000276:immunology*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000502:physiology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D010581:Peyer's Patches / Q000502:physiology*
D016207:Cytokines