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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Measuring Bacterial Load and Immune Responses in Mice Infected with Listeria monocytogenes
Published on: August 9, 2011
Innate and adaptive immune responses to Listeria monocytogenes: a short overview
1Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Abstract:
The Gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a model pathogen for elucidating important mechanisms of the immune response. Infection of mice with a sub-lethal dose of bacteria generates highly reproducible innate and adaptive immune responses, resulting in clearance of the bacteria and resistance to subsequent L. monocytogenes infection. Both the innate and adaptive immune systems are crucial to the recognition and elimination of this pathogen from the host.
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