To investigate roles of IL-23 in viral infection, we have engineered recombinant vaccinia virus (VV) expressing IL-12 (VV-IL-12) and expressing IL-23 (VV-IL-23). We found VV-IL-23 was less virulent in BALB/c mice than wild-type VV (VV-WT), indicating that IL-23 enhances resistance to VV. VV-specific CTL activity in VV-IL-23-infected mice was slightly higher than activity in VV-WT-inoculated mice, although antiviral Ab production and NK activity were not increased. IL-12/23p40-deficient mice survived the infection with VV-IL-23, indicating that IL-23 promotes VV resistance independently of IL-12. The mechanism of the IL-23-mediated resistance was distinct from that of the IL-12-regulated resistance because IFN-γ-deficient mice did not eliminate VV-IL-12, but did eradicate VV-IL-23. These data indicate that IFN-γ is essential for the IL-12-mediated resistance, but dispensable for the IL-23-regulated resistance. Because IL-17 is a key in the IL-23-regulated resistance to bacteria, we hypothesized an involvement of IL-17 in the resistance to VV. Treatment with an anti-IL-17 mAb resulted in a significant increase of viral titers in VV-IL-23-infected IFN-γ-deficient mice. In addition, VV-IL-17 was less virulent than VV-WT in BALB/c mice, and IL-17-deficient mice were more sensitive to VV-WT than control mice. However, the effect of neutralization with an anti-IL-17 mAb was limited, and IL-17-deficient mice survived the infection with VV-IL-23. Taken together, these data suggest that the IL-23/IL-17 axis plays a certain but subdominant role in the IL-23-mediated resistance to VV. Unveiling of an alternative pathway in the IL-23-regulated resistance might provide a novel strategy against infectious pathogens without side effects of autoimmunity.
Eleven cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivars were evaluated for their growth and yield performance in Shihezi, Xinjiang, China, an area in Central Asia with short growing period in 1999 and 2000. In each cultivar the number of bolls per plant was low and the number of bolls per unit area was high. Each cultivar showed rather high seed and lint yields. The highest lint yield was Xinluzao 10 in both years with 1761 and 1809 kg ha )1 . High yield ability of the cultivars in this study was attributed to large number of bolls per unit area with high lint percentage. Seed and lint yields had significant positive correlations with mean net assimilation rate, ratio of reproductive to vegetative organs and mean boll weight at earlier stages of boll growth, suggesting that early boll formation and successive partitioning of dry matter into bolls were important factors for boll growth in this study area.
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