Murine cutaneous leishmaniasis: susceptibility correlates with differential expansion of helper T-cell subsets

• Published in: Annales de l'Institut Pasteur. Immunology Vol. 138; no. 5; p. 744
• Main Authors: Locksley, R M, Heinzel, F P, Sadick, M D, Holaday, B J, Gardner, Jr, K D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01-09-1987
• Subjects: Animals; Disease Susceptibility; Interferon-gamma - biosynthesis; Interferon-gamma - genetics; Leishmaniasis - immunology; Lymph Nodes - immunology; Lymphocyte Activation; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Species Specificity; Spleen - immunology; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer - classification; T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer - immunology
• ISSN: 0769-2625
• DOI: 10.1016/S0769-2625(87)80030-2

BALB/c mice develop fatal illness following infection with Leishmania major despite expansion of helper L3T4+ T cells in the draining lymph nodes and spleen. Healer mice, either genetically resistant C57BL/6 or BALB/c that have been pretreated with monoclonal antibody GK 1.5, also develop expanded numbers of L3T4+ T cells at the time of healing. Lymph node cells from healer mice produce gamma-interferon in vitro and message for gamma-interferon can be recovered from the lymph nodes during healing in vivo. Conversely, cells harvested from non-healer mice during the course of infection produce minimal gamma-interferon in vitro and have little message for gamma-interferon detectable in vivo. When the same Northern blots are hybridized for IL-4, large amounts of IL-4 message are detected only in cells from non-healer mice. The data are consistent with the expansion of type 1 helper cells (Th1) during healing and type 2 helper cells (Th2) during progressive leishmania infection.