| First Author | Khan IA | Year | 1994 |
| Journal | Infect Immun | Volume | 62 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 1639-42 |
| PubMed ID | 7909536 | Mgi Jnum | J:17870 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:65894 | Doi | 10.1128/iai.62.5.1639-1642.1994 |
| Citation | Khan IA, et al. (1994) Interleukin-12 enhances murine survival against acute toxoplasmosis. Infect Immun 62(5):1639-42 |
| abstractText | Protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii is mediated by the host cellular immune response. Interleukin-12 (IL-12), a recently described cytokine that stimulates NK cells to produce gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), is able to enhance host protection against this parasite in SCID mice. Administration of IL-12 to A/J mice significantly increased survival over that of control mice when IL-12 was delivered early in the course of acute infection. If it was administered at day 3 or thereafter, there was no observed difference in mortality between treated and control mice. Antibody depletion of IL-12 increased susceptibility to infection, as measured by mortality, only when the IL-12 was administered before day 3 postinfection. Mice treated with IL-12 at day 0 postinfection exhibited a significant rise above the control in both IL-2 and IFN-gamma production. Once infection has been established in the host (3 days), administration of exogenous IL-12 is unable to alter parasite-induced downregulation of IFN-gamma production. Thus, IL-12 appears to play an important, but transitory, role in protection against acute infection with T. gondii in the normal murine host. |
