Sh. Wang et al., IFN-gamma knockout mice show Th2-associated delayed-type hypersensitivity and the inflammatory cells fail to localize and control chlamydial infection, EUR J IMMUN, 29(11), 1999, pp. 3782-3792
Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) has been demonstrated to be a Th1 type
immune response which is important in the host defense against infection wi
th intracellular bacteria, including Chlamydia. In the present study, we su
rprisingly observed that C. trachomatis mouse pneumonitis (MoPn)-infected I
FN-gamma gene knockout (KO) mice mounted strong DTH responses following foo
pad challenge with inactivated organisms. The DTH responses in IFN-gamma KO
mice were associated with Th2 cytokine production and partially blocked by
anti-IL-4 monoclonal antibodies. In addition, the inflammatory cells in IF
N-gamma KO mice failed to target the cellular sites of chlamydial inclusion
s in infected tissues and failed to clear the infection. The data, in conju
nction with previous studies, suggest that different types (Th1 and Th2 ass
ociated) of DTH responses may function differently in host defense against
chlamydial infection and that the functional differences in DTH responses m
ay account for the dual role that DTH is speculated to play in chlamydial p
rotective immunity and immunopathology. Moreover, the data suggest that the
IFN-gamma KO mouse is a useful model system for studying chlamydial pathog
enesis.