In Situ Characterization of Splenic Brucella melitensis Reservoir Cells during the Chronic Phase of Infection in Susceptible Mice.

ABSTRACT: Brucella are facultative intracellular Gram-negative coccobacilli that chronically infect humans as well as domestic and wild-type mammals, and cause brucellosis. Alternatively activated macrophages (M2a) induced by IL-4/IL-13 via STAT6 signaling pathways have been frequently described as a favorable niche for long-term persistence of intracellular pathogens. Based on the observation that M2a-like macrophages are induced in the spleen during the chronic phase of B. abortus infection in mice and are strongly infected in vitro, it has been suggested that M2a macrophages could be a potential in vivo niche for Brucella. In order to test this hypothesis, we used a model in which infected cells can be observed directly in situ and where the differentiation of M2a macrophages is favored by the ab

SUBMITTER: Hanot Mambres D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4574346 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature