Chemokine Expression during Listeria monocytogenes Infection in Severe Combined Immune Deficient (SCID) Mice
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Authors
Tongren, Jon Eric
Issue Date
1993
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Rapid immunological cellular migration in response to infection by a
pathogenic organism is crucial in the proper induction of an immune
response and the eventual clearance of the microbe. In the model of Listeria
monocytogenes infection in mice, the acute cellular influx to a site of
infection is characterized by rapid neutrophil and monocyte infiltration
followed by the appearance of Natural Killer (NK) cells, T and B lymphocytes.
A new family of cytokines, the chemotactic cytokines or chemokines, has
been identified whose members specifically attract the above cell types. In this
study, we have evaluated the expression of these chemotactic cytokines in the
livers and spleens of Listeria infected mice via PCR and Northern Blotting.
The PCR demonstrated that KC, JE, MlPlα and MIP1β are all rapidly induced.
Northern blot analysis supports this rapid induction and shows chemokine
expression to reach peak levels as early as approximately 2 hours after
infection. Expression of these cytokines could be the major event involved in
initiating the acute inflammatory response against an invading
microorganism. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the
cellular infiltration associated with the acute inflammatory response is
important because the chemokines ultimately control the localized effects of
the specific immune cells by integrating and coordinating their migration.
Description
iv, 31 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.