| First Author | Barbic J | Year | 1997 |
| Journal | Infect Immun | Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 12 | Pages | 4904-8 |
| PubMed ID | 9393774 | Mgi Jnum | J:44801 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1101340 | Doi | 10.1128/iai.65.12.4904-4908.1997 |
| Citation | Barbic J, et al. (1997) Role of gamma interferon in natural clearance of Bordetella pertussis infection. Infect Immun 65(12):4904-8 |
| abstractText | Using a mouse model of Bordetella pertussis infection, we have analyzed the role of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in bacterial clearance from the respiratory tract. Adult BALB/c mice began to clear a respiratory infection within 3 weeks postinfection, with complete resolution of infection 6 to 8 weeks postinfection. In contrast, neither adult SCID mice (which lack mature B and T lymphocytes) nor adult nude mice (which lack mature T lymphocytes) controlled B. pertussis infection, and both strains died within 3 to 5 weeks postinfection. Short-term T-cell lines generated from the draining lymph nodes of the lungs of infected BALB/c mice were found to be CD4+ and produced IFN-gamma but no detectable interleukin-4. Analyses of IFN-gamma mRNA induction in the lungs of mice following B. pertussis infection showed that in both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice, IFN-gamma mRNA levels increased sharply by 1 week postinfection and then subsequently declined. Further exploration of a potential role for IFN-gamma demonstrated that infection of adult BALB/c mice depleted of IFN-gamma in vivo with anti-IFN-gamma monoclonal antibodies resulted in greater numbers of bacteria recovered from the lungs than in infected, control BALB/c mice, although IFN-gamma-depleted mice could subsequently clear the infection. Infection of mice which have a disrupted IFN-gamma gene resulted in bacterial clearance with a time course similar to those seen with IFN-gamma-depleted mice. These results indicate that IFN-gamma plays a role in controlling B. pertussis infection. |
