title: Myeloid cells do not contribute to gender-dependent differences in disease outcome in murine cutaneous leishmaniasis.
abstract: Gender-associated differences in the outcome of infections are well known. Apart from behavior-released differences in their incidence, immunological factors also contribute to disease outcome. The underlying mechanisms are often unknown. Here, we show that in murine experimental leishmaniasis, female mice develop larger skin lesions that harbor significantly more parasites, exhibit increased parasite dissemination to visceral organs associated with a shift towards T helper (Th) 2 immunity with increased levels of IL-4. Antigen presenting cells (APC) responsible for T cell priming, such as macrophages or dendritic cells, were not involved in the process. Additionally, in adoptive transfer experiments, we show that differences in the lymphoid lineage are also not critical for mediating these gender-dependent effects. In summary, neither myeloid nor lymphoid cells contribute to disease outcome against this important human pathogen, but stromal cells influenced by e.g. hormonal effects in addition to other parts of the immune system might play a role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Constantin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kunz
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dietze-Schwonberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: vonstebu@mail.uni-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: von Stebut
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D022423:Myeloid Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D012723:Sex; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D058408:Th1-Th2 Balance; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D006728:Hormones; D015847:Interleukin-4
keywords: Dendritic cell; Gender; Leishmania; Parasite infection; Th1/Th2