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Lochner, M.* ; Kastenmüller, K. ; Neuenhahn, M.* ; Weighardt, H.* ; Busch, D.H. ; Reindl, W.* ; Förster, I.*

Decreased susceptibility of mice to infection with Listeria monocytogenes in the absence of interleukin-18.

Infect. Immun. 76, 3881-3890 (2008)
DOI
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
The induction of proinflammatory cytokines such as gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor alpha is crucial for the early control of bacterial infections. Since interleukin-18 (IL-18) acts as a potent inducer of IFN-gamma, it might play an important role in the induction of a protective immune response in listeriosis. We used a murine model of systemic Listeria monocytogenes infection to study the immune response to these intracellular bacteria in the absence of IL-18. For this purpose, IL-18-deficient mice and mice treated with anti-IL-18 neutralizing antibody were infected with L. monocytogenes, and their innate and adaptive immune responses were compared to those of control mice. Unexpectedly, we found that mice deficient in IL-18 were partially resistant to primary infection with L. monocytogenes. At day 3 after infection, the numbers of listeriae in the livers and spleens of control mice were up to 500 times higher than those in IL-18-deficient or anti-IL-18 antibody-treated mice. In addition, the level of proinflammatory cytokines was markedly reduced in IL-18-deficient mice. Enhanced resistance to L. monocytogenes infection in IL-18-deficient mice was accompanied by increased numbers of leukocytes and reduced apoptosis in the spleen 48 to 72 h after infection. In contrast, control and IL-18-deficient mice showed no significant differences in their abilities to mount a protective L. monocytogenes-specific T-cell response.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0019-9567
e-ISSN 1098-5522
Quellenangaben Volume: 76, Issue: 9, Pages: 3881-3890 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed