T-Bet Controls Susceptibility of Mice to Coxiella burnetii Infection.

ABSTRACT: T-bet is a transcription factor known to initiate and coordinate the gene expression program during Th1 differentiation, which is crucial for clearance of intracellular pathogens. Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii. This bacterium is transmitted to humans by aerosol. Indeed, the inhibition of the Coxiella-specific adaptive Th1 immune response leads to persistent infection and organ injury. How deficiency of T-bet affects host infection by C. burnetii has not been investigated. Here, using mice with a deletion of the T-bet gene and an airborne mode of infection to reproduce the natural conditions of C. burnetii infection, we show that infected T-bet^-/- mice were more affected than wild-type mice. The lack of T-bet leads to defe

SUBMITTER: Mezouar S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7381240 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature