Document Detail


IL-12 promotes drug-induced clearance of Mycobacterium avium infection in mice.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  9605144     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium avium is a major cause of opportunistic infection in AIDS patients and is difficult to manage using conventional chemotherapeutic approaches. In the current study, we describe a strategy for the treatment of M. avium in T cell-deficient hosts based on the simultaneous administration of antibiotics and the immunomodulatory cytokine IL-12. In contrast to SCID mice, which were partially resistant, animals lacking a functional IL-12 p40 gene were found to be highly susceptible to M. avium infection, suggesting that the cytokine can control bacterial growth even in immunodeficient mice. Indeed, rIL-12 that was injected into infected SCID mice in high doses caused small but significant reductions in splenic pathogen loads. Moreover, a lower dose of IL-12, when combined with the antimycobacterial drugs clarithromycin or rifabutin, induced a decrease in bacterial numbers that was significantly greater than that resulting from the administration of the cytokine or drug alone. A similar synergistic effect of IL-12 and antibiotics was seen when immunocompetent mice were treated with the same regimen. The activity of IL-12 in these experiments was shown to be dependent upon the induction of endogenous IFN-gamma. Nevertheless, IFN-gamma itself, even when given at a higher dose than IL-12, failed to significantly enhance antibiotic clearance of bacteria. Together these findings suggest that IL-12 may be a particularly potent adjunct for chemotherapy of M. avium infection in immunocompromised individuals and may result in more effective control of the pathogen without the need for increased drug dosage.
Authors:
T M Doherty; A Sher
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)     Volume:  160     ISSN:  0022-1767     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Immunol.     Publication Date:  1998 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1998-06-11     Completed Date:  1998-06-11     Revised Date:  2008-11-21    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  2985117R     Medline TA:  J Immunol     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  5428-35     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM; X    
Affiliation:
Immunobiology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adjuvants, Immunologic / therapeutic use*
Animals
Clarithromycin / administration & dosage
Crosses, Genetic
Drug Therapy, Combination
Immunity, Innate / drug effects,  genetics
Injections, Intraperitoneal
Interferon-gamma / physiology,  therapeutic use
Interleukin-12 / deficiency,  therapeutic use*
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Knockout
Mice, SCID
Mycobacterium avium / immunology*
Rifabutin / administration & dosage
Tuberculosis / drug therapy*,  immunology*,  microbiology
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Adjuvants, Immunologic; 187348-17-0/Interleukin-12; 72559-06-9/Rifabutin; 81103-11-9/Clarithromycin; 82115-62-6/Interferon-gamma

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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