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Interleukin-12 primes CD4+ T cells for interferon-gamma production and protective immunity during Mycobacterium avium
R A Silva1, M Flórido, R Appelberg
1Laboratory of Microbiology and Immunology of Infection, Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Porto, Portugal.
Abstract:
Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a crucial cytokine for the generation of a protective immune response against Mycobacterium avium infection. In contrast to infected control mice, IL-12-deficient mice were unable to control bacterial proliferation and their spleen T cells were almost unresponsive in vitro to specific antigens of M. avium. Susceptibility of mice deficient in IL-12 was similar to that of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-deficient mice. These data indicate a crucial role of IL-12 in the development of a T-cell population able to produce IFN-gamma and to mediate protection against M. avium infection. Treatment of M. avium-infected mice with IL-12 induced CD4+ T cells with enhanced capacity to produce IFN-gamma as well as to confer increased protection against M. avium.
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