| First Author | Dalrymple SA | Year | 1996 |
| Journal | Infect Immun | Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 8 | Pages | 3231-5 |
| PubMed ID | 8757858 | Mgi Jnum | J:110836 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3641378 | Doi | 10.1128/iai.64.8.3231-3235.1996 |
| Citation | Dalrymple SA, et al. (1996) Interleukin-6 is required for a protective immune response to systemic Escherichia coli infection. Infect Immun 64(8):3231-5 |
| abstractText | Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multipotential cytokine detected in the serum of patients or experimental animals undergoing bacterial sepsis. To date, the role of IL-6 in gram-negative sepsis models has been controversial. We have used IL-6-deficient mice to investigate the role of IL-6 during virulent Escherichia coli infection and in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mortality. In this report we describe an increased susceptibility of IL-6-deficient mice to E. coli infection in terms of mortality and accumulation of viable bacteria in tissues, indicating a protective role for IL-6 during the immune response against E. coli. In contrast, mortality rates of IL-6-deficient mice and control animals undergoing LPS-induced shock did not differ, indicating that IL-6 was inconsequential for survival in this model. Furthermore, we have shown that neutrophils were crucial for resistance to E. coli in normal mice. IL-6-deficient mice were unable to efficiently induce neutrophilia in the bloodstream immediately following challenge with E. coli, in contrast to a characteristic neutrophilia induced in control animals. Prophylactic treatment of the mutant animals with recombinant IL-6 protein reverted both the deficit of neutrophilia and the accumulation of bacteria in tissues. These data clarify the role of IL-6 as protective in virulent E. coli infection and suggest that the protective effect may be at least partially mediated through neutrophils. |
