Related Experiment Videos

Cutting edge: inducible costimulator protein regulates both Th1 and Th2 responses to cutaneous leishmaniasis

Rebecca J Greenwald1, Alexander J McAdam, Diane Van der Woude

  • 1Immunology Research Division, Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

The CD28 family member inducible costimulator protein (ICOS) has an important role in T cell differentiation and Ig class switching. To investigate the role of ICOS in vivo, ICOS-/- mice were infected s.c. with Leishmania mexicana. While wild-type mice developed large, cutaneous lesions, the growth of lesions and tissue histopathology was significantly delayed in ICOS-/- mice. ICOS-/- mice exhibited marked decreases in both Th1 and Th2 cytokine production and profound defects in L. mexicana-specific Ig isotype class switching to IgG1 and IgG2a and reduced total IgE levels. Our findings indicate that ICOS is a key regulator of both Th1 and Th2 responses and has a role in controlling cutaneous L. mexicana infection.

Related Concept Videos