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- Tjärnlund, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Polymeric Ig receptor knockout mice are more susceptible to mycobacteria infection in the respiratory tract
- 2006
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Ingår i: International Immunology. - : Oxford university press. - 0953-8178 .- 1460-2377. ; 18:5, s. 807-816
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is generally accepted that cellular, and not humoral immunity, plays the crucial role in defense against intracellular bacteria. However, accumulating data indicate the importance of humoral immunity for the defense against a number of intracellular bacteria, including mycobacteria. We have investigated the role of secretory IgA, the main isotype found in mucosal tissues, in protection against mycobacterial infection, using polymeric IgR (pIgR)-deficient mice. Characterization of the humoral response induced after intra-nasal immunizations with the mycobacterial antigen PstS-1 revealed a loss of antigen-specific IgA response in saliva from the knockout mice. IgA level in the bronchoalveolar lavage of knockout mice was similar to wild-type level, although the IgA antibodies must have reached the lumen by other means than pIgR-mediated transport. Infection with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) demonstrated that the immunized pIgR−/− mice were more susceptible to BCG infection than immunized wild-type mice, based on higher bacterial loads in the lungs. This was accompanied by a reduced production of both IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the lungs. Additionally, the pIgR−/− mice displayed reduced natural resistance to mycobacterial infection proved by significantly higher bacterial growth in their lungs compared with wild-type mice after infection with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The knockout mice appeared to have a delayed mycobacteria-induced immune response with reduced expression of protective mediators, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase and regulated upon activation normal T cell sequence, during early infection. Collectively, our results show that actively secreted IgA plays a role in protection against mycobacterial infections in the respiratory tract, by blocking entrance of bacilli into the lungs, in addition to modulation of the mycobacteria-induced pro-inflammatory response.
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