Leishmania major Strain-Dependent Macrophage Activation Contributes to Pathogenicity in the Absence of Lymphocytes.

ABSTRACT: Infection of C57BL/6 wild-type mice with Leishmania major 5-ASKH or Friedlin strains results in relatively similar pathogenicity with self-healing lesions within weeks. Parasite clearance depends on nitric oxide production by activated macrophages in response to cytokines produced mainly by CD4⁺ Th1 cells. In contrast, C57BL/6 Rag2 knockout mice, which lack T and B lymphocytes, show distinct pathologies during infection with these strains. Despite of the similar parasite number, the 5-ASKH infection induced severe inflammation rather than the Friedlin. To determine the immunological factors behind this phenomenon, we infected C57BL/6 Rag2 knockout mice with these two strains and compared immune cell kinetics and macrophage activation status. Compared with the Friedlin strain, th

SUBMITTER: Alshaweesh J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9603372 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature