Regulatory T cells are locally induced during intravaginal infection of mice with Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a gram-negative diplococcus that in human beings produces gonorrhea. Much clinical evidence has led to the conclusion that gonococcus has important mechanisms to evade host immune functions; however, these mechanisms are only now beginning to be elucidated. In this study, we determined that the BALB/c mouse is a good animal model to study gonococcus infection and examined the immune response against the bacteria. We determined that after intravaginal inoculation of mice with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria reached and invaded the upper female reproductive tissues and elicited a T-cell-specific immune response associated with a very weak humoral response, altogether resembling gonococcus infection and disease in women. Remarkably, in the draining lymph nodes of the genital tracts of infected mice, we found an increase of regulatory T lymphocytes, namely, transforming growth factor beta1-positive CD4(+) T cells and CD4(+) CD25(+) Foxp3(+) T cells. Altogether, results indicate that N. gonorrhoeae induces regulatory T cells, which might be related to the local survival of the pathogen and the establishment of a chronic asymptomatic infection.
Imarai
Mónica
M
Laboratorio de Inmunología, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Alameda 3363, Correo 40, Casilla 33, Santiago, Chile. monica.imarai@usach.cl
Candia
Enzo
E
Rodriguez-Tirado
Carolina
C
Tognarelli
Javier
J
Pardo
Mirka
M
Pérez
Tomas
T
Valdés
Daniel
D
Reyes-Cerpa
Sebastián
S
Nelson
Pablo
P
Acuna-Castillo
Claudio
C
Maisey
Kevin
K
D000818:Animals; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000276:immunology* / Q000662:veterinary; D007959:Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000096:biosynthesis
D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1