| First Author | Fikrig E | Year | 1997 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 159 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 5682-6 |
| PubMed ID | 9548512 | Mgi Jnum | J:109903 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3630079 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.159.11.5682 |
| Citation | Fikrig E, et al. (1997) Protective antibodies develop, and murine Lyme arthritis regresses, in the absence of MHC class II and CD4+ T cells. J Immunol 159(11):5682-6 |
| abstractText | Murine Lyme borreliosis is characterized by arthritis and carditis that are most severe at 2 to 3 wk, then regress during the course of persistent infection. Borrelia burgdorferi-specific Abs and CD4+ T cells have been implicated in the resolution phase of arthritis. Therefore, MHC class II transactivator (CIITA)-deficient mice that do not express conventional class II molecules and lack the normal CD4 repertoire were used to investigate the role of MHC class II-mediated responses in Lyme disease. The development of arthritis and carditis, and the resolution of arthritis, were similar in CIITA-deficient and control C57/BL6 mice. In contrast, the resolution of carditis was delayed in CIITA-deficient animals compared with controls. Moreover, CIITA-deficient mice developed B. burgdorferi-specific IgG2b Abs, and sera from these animals passively protected naive C3H/HeN mice from challenge inoculation and cleared B. burgdorferi from 2 day-infected C.B.17 SCID mice. These data suggest that CD4+ T cells and MHC class II-mediated responses are not required for the generation of protective Abs or the regression of arthritis, but may be important in the resolution of Lyme carditis in mice. |
