| First Author | Gudmundsson G | Year | 1998 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 161 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 991-9 |
| PubMed ID | 9670980 | Mgi Jnum | J:48552 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1270948 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.161.2.991 |
| Citation | Gudmundsson G, et al. (1998) IL-12 modulates expression of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. J Immunol 161(2):991-9 |
| abstractText | Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a granulomatous, inflammatory lung disease caused by inhalation of organic Ags, most commonly thermophilic actinomycetes. Only a minority of individuals exposed to these Ags develops disease, suggesting that host factors are important for the expression of HP. We compared the expression of HP in a sensitive strain of mice, C57BL/6, and in a resistant strain of mice, DBA/2. They were exposed to the thermophilic bacteria Saccharopolyspora rectivirgula (SR) or to saline alone for 3 consecutive days/week for 3 wk. After exposure to Ag, C57BL/6 mice, but not DBA/2 mice, developed granulomatous inflammation with an increase in lung index (lung weight). Both strains had similar amounts of Ag delivered to the lungs after intranasal installation, as determined with 14C-labeled Ag. Both also had similar increases in total bronchoalveolar cells after Ag exposure, but the C57BL/6 mice had more lymphocytes. Compared with the resistant strain, the sensitive strain had a significantly greater Ag-induced increase in IL-12 and IFN-gamma gene expression. DBA/2 mice resembled sensitive, C57BL/6 mice if they received IL-12 augmentation therapy at the time of Ag exposure. These findings were not limited to lung, since both unstimulated and SR-stimulated spleen cells from C57BL/6 mice released significantly more IL-12 than cells from DBA/2 mice. However, spleen cells from DBA/2 mice made more IFN-gamma when exposed to IL-12, than cells from C57BL/6 mice. These results suggest that the IL-12 response to Ag may modulate in part the expression of HP. |
