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PMID: 9353074 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Lethal tuberculosis in interleukin-6-deficient mutant mice.

Infection and immunity ·Vol. 65 ·No. 11 ·1997-11-00 ·Pages 4843-9

Ladel CH, Blum C, Dreher A, Reifenberg K, Kopf M, Kaufmann SH

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease which causes major health problems globally. Acquired resistance is mediated by T lymphocytes and executed by activated macrophages. In vitro studies have emphasized the importance of macrophage activation for mycobacterial growth inhibition. In vivo, the protective host response is focused on granulomatous lesions in which Mycobacterium tuberculosis is contained. A cellular immune response of the T helper 1 (Th1) type is considered central for control of tuberculosis. Using interleukin-6 (IL-6)-deficient mice, we here demonstrate a crucial role of this pluripotent cytokine in protection against M. tuberculosis but not against Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Infection with M. tuberculosis was lethal for the IL-6-deficient mice at inocula that were still controlled by IL-6-competent mice. Spleen cells from M. tuberculosis-infected IL-6-/- mouse mutants produced elevated levels of IL-4 and reduced levels of gamma interferon compared to the control levels. Cytofluorometric analyses of spleen cells from M. tuberculosis-infected mice revealed more-profound alterations in T-cell ratios in IL-6-/- mice than in control mice. We assume that IL-6 contributes to host resistance by its proinflammatory activity and by its influence on cytokine secretion.

MeSH Terms
Animals Female Immunophenotyping Interferon-gamma/metabolism Interleukin-12/metabolism Interleukin-4/metabolism Interleukin-6/deficiency,physiology Male Mice Mice, Inbred C57BL Mycobacterium bovis/immunology Mycobacterium tuberculosis/immunology Tuberculosis/immunology Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism
Chemicals
Interleukin-6 Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha Interleukin-12 Interleukin-4 Interferon-gamma
Authors & Affiliations
6 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Ladel C H
Department of Immunology, University of Ulm, Germany.
Blum C
Dreher A
Reifenberg K
Kopf M
Kaufmann S H
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Article Info
Journal
Infection and immunity
Abbr.
Infect Immun
ISSN
0019-9567
DOI
10.1128/iai.65.11.4843-4849.1997
Published
1997-11-00
Pages
4843-9
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0246127
PMCID
PMC175695
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/iai.65.11.4843-4849.1997 PMC Full Text View journal details
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