Histological and immunopathological studies of delayed hypersensitivity reaction to tuberculin in mice

The Importance of First Impressions: Early Events in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Influence Outcome

Tuberculosis remains a major health threat in much of the world. New vaccines against Mycobacterium tuberculosis are essential for preventing infection, disease, and transmission. However, the host immune responses that need to be induced by an effective vaccine remain unclear. Increasingly, it has become clear that early events in infection are of major importance in the eventual outcome of the infection. Studying such events in humans is challenging, as they occur within the lung and thoracic lymph nodes, and any clinical signs of early infection are relatively nonspecific. Nonetheless, clinical studies and animal models of tuberculosis have provided new insights into the local events that occur in the first few weeks of tuberculosis. Development of an effective vaccine requires a clear understanding of the successful (and detrimental) early host responses against M. tuberculosis, with the goal to improve upon natural immune responses and prevent infection or disease.

Strain-dependent protective effect of adult thymectomy on murine infection by Mycobacterium lepraemurium

C57BL/6, DBA/2, BALB/c and CBA mice were thymectomized as adults, or sham-thymectomized, and infected subcutaneously with 10(6) MLM. The number of MLM in the spleen and in the inoculated footpad was measured after 1 year of infection as well as the DTH reactions and the IgM and IgG antibody levels to MLM. Non-thymectomized mice exhibited a broad spectrum of resistance to MLM infection and of T cell mediated immunity grading from the highly resistant C57BL/6 strain to the highly susceptible CBA strain. In between, DBA/2 was found more resistant than BALB/c mice. Adult thymectomy reduced by 100 times the MLM number in the spleen of infected DBA/2 mice, without affecting that measured in the inoculated footpad, and significantly decreased DTH reaction in the same strain. No effect of adult thymectomy was observed in any other strain, except for an increase of anti MLM antibodies in BALB/c mice. These results may suggest that the medium-resistant DBA/2 strain develops after MLM infection suppressor T cells which favour MLM dissemination and are sensitive to adult.

Cellular immune response to Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) in genetically-susceptible and resistant congenic mouse strains

Congenic Bcgr (C.D2, resistant) and Bcgs (BALB/c, susceptible) mice were infected intravenously with Mycobacterium bovis (BCG, strain Montreal) in order to establish the relationship between different indicators of the cell-mediated immune response and the bacterial load attained in the host. There was a correlation between the bacterial burden and the splenomegaly response, granuloma formation in the liver and cross-protection against an heterologous pathogen (Listeria monocytogenes) in Bcgr and Bcgs mice. No relationship was found between bacterial load or granuloma formation and the development of specific acquired protection against an homologous organism (BCG or M. tuberculosis, H37Rv) as assessed by the level of resistance attained in BCG-primed mice challenged with virulent H37Rv or by the adoptive immunity conferred by BCG-primed spleen cells transferred to naïve irradiated recipients challenged with BCG.