Involvement of Pore Formation and Osmotic Lysis in the Rapid Killing of Gamma Interferon-Pretreated C166 Endothelial Cells by Rickettsia prowazekii.

ABSTRACT: Rickettsia prowazekii, the bacterial cause of epidemic typhus in humans, proliferates mainly within the microvascular endothelial cells. Previous studies have shown that murine macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells are rapidly damaged if they are pretreated with gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and then infected with R. prowazekii. In the present study, the effects of IFN-γ and R. prowazekii on murine C166 endothelial cells were evaluated. In the IFN-γ-pretreated R. prowazekii-infected endothelial cell cultures, evidence of cell damage was observed within several hours after addition of the rickettsiae. Considerable numbers of the cells became permeable to trypan blue dye and ethidium bromide, and substantial amounts of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were released from the cells.

SUBMITTER: Turco J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9415803 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature