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Infection and Immunity, October 1999, p. 5041-5047, Vol. 67, No. 10
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Modulation of Cytokine Response of Pneumonic Foals by Virulent Rhodococcus equi

Steeve Giguère,dagger Bruce N. Wilkie, and John F. Prescott*

Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada

Received 21 April 1999/Returned for modification 25 May 1999/Accepted 15 July 1999

The ability of Rhodococcus equi to induce pneumonia in foals depends on the presence of an 85- to 90-kb plasmid. In this study, we evaluated whether plasmid-encoded products mediate virulence by modulating the cytokine response of foals. Foals infected intrabronchially with a virulence plasmid-containing strain of R. equi had similar gamma interferon (IFN-gamma ) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) p35 but significantly higher IL-1beta , IL-10, IL-12 p40, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha ) mRNA expression in lung tissue compared to foals infected with the plasmid-cured derivative. IFN-gamma mRNA expression levels in CD4+ T lymphocytes isolated from bronchial lymph nodes (BLN) were similar for the two groups of R. equi-infected foals on day 3 postinfection. However, on day 14, in association with pneumonia and marked multiplication of virulent R. equi but with complete clearance of the plasmid-cured derivative, IFN-gamma mRNA expression in BLN CD4+ T lymphocytes was significantly (P < 0.001) higher in foals infected with the plasmid-cured derivative. These results suggests an immunomodulating role for R. equi virulence plasmid-encoded products in downregulating IFN-gamma mRNA expression by CD4+ T lymphocytes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada. Phone: (519) 824-4120, ext. 4717. Fax: (519) 767-0809. E-mail: jprescott{at}ovcnet.uoguelph.ca.

dagger Present address: Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0136.

Infection and Immunity, October 1999, p. 5041-5047, Vol. 67, No. 10
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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