Liver Necrosis and Lethal Systemic Inflammation in a Murine Model of Rickettsia typhi Infection: Role of Neutrophils, Macrophages and NK Cells.

ABSTRACT: Rickettsia (R.) typhi is the causative agent of endemic typhus, an emerging febrile disease that is associated with complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis and liver dysfunction. To elucidate how innate immune mechanisms contribute to defense and pathology we here analyzed R. typhi infection of CB17 SCID mice that are congenic to BALB/c mice but lack adaptive immunity. CB17 SCID mice succumbed to R. typhi infection within 21 days and showed high bacterial load in spleen, brain, lung, and liver. Most evident pathological changes in R. typhi-infected CB17 SCID mice were massive liver necrosis and splenomegaly due to the disproportionate accumulation of neutrophils and macrophages (MΦ). Both neutrophils and MΦ infiltrated the liver and harbored R. typhi. Both cell populations expressed

SUBMITTER: Papp S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4993389 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature