title: CXCL1-deficient mice are highly sensitive to pseudomonas aeruginosa but not herpes simplex virus type 1 corneal infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the role of the chemokine CXCL1 on leukocyte recruitment, cytokine production and host resistance during HSV-1 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Viral titer and bacterial load were compared following infection of wild-type (WT) and CXCL1(-/-) mice. Corneal leukocyte recruitment was determined using flow cytometry. Cytokine levels were assessed by luminex-based suspension arrays. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, confocal microscopy, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were used to visualize leukocyte recruitment and corneal thickening.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HSV-1-infected WT and CXCL1(-/-) mice possessed similar viral titers in the cornea during late acute infection. Flow cytometry analysis detected similar leukocyte levels in the cornea following infection as well. By comparison, there was a significant increase in P. aeruginosa recovered from CXCL1(-/-) corneas as compared with WT mice. Imaging analysis and histochemical staining revealed impaired leukocyte recruitment to the central cornea and earlier corneal thickening in CXCL1(-/-) mice. IFN-γ, CCL2, and CCL5 protein levels were similar between WT and CXCL1(-/-) corneas following HSV-1 or P. aeruginosa infection. However, CXCL2 levels were significantly reduced in the CXCL1(-/-) corneas following either infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The absence of CXCL1 and CXCL2 expression significantly impairs the ability of the host to control P. aeruginosa replication through the recruitment of leukocytes to the central cornea. In contrast, CXCL1, CXCL2, and the cells they recruit, are not required for HSV-1 clearance during acute infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104, USA.
authors.forename: Katie M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bryant-Hudson
authors.forename: Daniel J J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D054360:Chemokine CXCL1 / Q000502:physiology*; D003315:Cornea / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000502:physiology; D016849:Keratitis, Herpetic / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D054360:Chemokine CXCL1; C475895:Cxcl1 protein, mouse; D016207:Cytokines