E. Bohn et al., EARLY GAMMA-INTERFERON MESSENGER-RNA EXPRESSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH RESISTANCE OF MICE AGAINST YERSINIA-ENTEROCOLITICA, Infection and immunity, 62(7), 1994, pp. 3027-3032
T cells in cooperation with macrophages play an important role in reso
lution of primary Yersinia enterocolitica infection in mice. Previous
work from this laboratory demonstrated that gamma interferon (IFN-gamm
a) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) are essential mediators
of these processes. In an attempt to elucidate early mechanisms of re
sistance, we investigated cytokine mRNA production, including that for
interieukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-alpha, a
nd IFN-gamma, after primary as well as secondary Y. enterocolitica inf
ection in Yersinia-susceptible BALB/c mice and Yersinia-resistant C57B
L/6 mice. In both strains of mice, proinflammatory cytokines such as I
L-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha were expressed rapidly and to comparable
degrees, while IFN-gamma expression was enhanced two- to eightfold in
C57BL/6 mice, as revealed by semiquantitative reverse transcription P
CR Similar results were found in both mouse strains after secondary Y.
enterocolitica infection. IL-2 mRNA was detected only during secondar
y infection and disappeared rapidly in BALB/c mice. IL-4 mRNA expressi
on was detectable in C57BL/6 but not BALB/c mice. The levels of cytoki
ne mRNA expression correlated closely with the number of injected bact
eria. The findings reported here support the hypothesis that early and
enhanced production of IFN-gamma may be associated with a state of he
ightened resistance against Y. enterocolitica infection.