Immunopathology of Experimental Models of Syphilis, Influenza, and Asthma

The introduction of immunopathologic reaction classification in the 1960s led to a major advance in understanding immune effector mechanisms and how lesions of immunopathologic diseases developed. In this article, immunopathologic mechanisms are presented for experimental models of syphilis, influenza, and asthma. The chancre of syphilis is a delayed hypersensitivity skin reaction that is initiated by sensitized T cells that activate macrophages to phagocytose and kill the infecting organism, Treponema pallidum, in interstitial tissues. The primary immune effector mechanism in experimental influenza is T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity that kills infected epithelial cells, bronchial lining cells, and Type-II pneumocytes, in a manner similar to viral exanthema. The bronchial lesions of the experimental model of asthma in mice are preceded by an immune complex vasculitis and not an immunoglobulin E-mediated mast cell mechanism.