Interference between Host Resistance toListeria monocytogenesInfection and Ovalbumin-Induced Allergic Responses in Mice

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes promotes the induction of the T-helper 1 (Th1) cell response, while ovalbumin (OVA) induces a Th2 cell response and allergic reactions, such as airway hyperreactivity and immunoglobulin E (IgE) production. When mice were immunized with OVA on day 7 after L. monocytogenes infection, eosinophilia in bronchoalveolar lavage and the production of total IgE, OVA-specific IgE, interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-5 in the circulation were markedly suppressed. Cytokine responses, including IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and gamma interferon, to OVA were decreased in the spleen cell cultures obtained from OVA-immunized mice that had been infected with L. monocytogenes. Conversely, when OVA-immunized mice were infected with L. monocytogenes, conversion from the nonlethal infection to the lethal infection occurred. Host resistance to L. monocytogenes infection in OVA-immunized mice was enhanced by the administration of anti-IL-10 monoclonal antibody. The present study indicates that striking interference is observed between Th1-inducing L. monocytogenes infection and Th2-driven OVA-induced airway hyperreactivity. Antigen-specific CD4ϩ T-helper (Th)-cell responses can be divided into two types, based on cytokine production and effector function (1). Differentiation of Th1 cells, which can produce interleukin-2 (IL-2), gamma interferon (IFN-␥), and lymphotoxin, is driven by IL-12, while differentiation of Th2 cells, which can produce IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and IL-13, is driven by IL-4. Listeria monocytogenes, a facultative intracellular bacterium, induces the Th1 cell response in the infected host (14); IFN-␥ plays a critical role in antilisterial resistance (11), while IL-4 and IL-10 inhibit antilisterial resistance (3,8).Asthma is a disease caused by a type I allergic response to allergens and characterized by chronic airway inflammation, with recruitment of eosinophils. Th2 cells secreting IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 have an important role in the development of asthma (12, 23). Previous reports indicated that IFN-␥-dominated immune responses to viral or mycobacterial infection in childhood are associated with a reduced incidence of asthma (25,26). Recently, a mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic airway hyperresponsiveness reportedly revealed a reduction in allergic responses, including eosinophilic airway inflammation and serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) production, as a result of infection with Mycobacterium bovis BCG (4) or injection of killed M. vaccae (29) or killed L. monocytogenes (10), which induces Th1 cells (24). Therefore, we were interested in investigating the interaction between Th2-polarized OVA-induced airway hyperreactivity and Th1-polarized L. monocytogenes infection in mice.In this study, female C57BL/6 mice, 6 to 8 weeks old, were purchased from CLEA Japan, Inc., Tokyo, Japan. All animals were maintained under specific-pathogen-free conditions at the Institute for Animal Experiments, School of Medicine, Hirosaki University. Data were expressed as means and standard deviations (SD), and the Wilcox...

Prior Bordetella pertussis infection modulates allergen priming and the severity of airway pathology in a murine model of allergic asthma

“…Likewise, OVA sensitization of mice infected intravenously with Listeria monocytogenes , converts a non‐lethal infection to a lethal disease. In that model IL‐10 plays a critical role in the suppression of anti‐listerial resistance in OVA‐immunized mice [56]. Other groups have shown that heat‐killed Mycobacterium bovis ‐BCG suppressed the development of OVA‐induced airway eosinophila [57, 58].…”

Immune Stimulatory Strategies for the Prevention and Treatment of Asthma

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Perinatal Immunization With Vaccine-GradeListeria monocytogenesProvides Protection Against Murine Th2 Airway Inflammation

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