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Infection and Immunity, November 1998, p. 5224-5231, Vol. 66, No. 11
Department of Companion Animal and Special
Species1 and
Department of Microbiology,
Pathology and Parasitology, Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and
Disease,2 College of Veterinary Medicine, North
Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606;
Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, Department of
Medicine and Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease,
School of Medicine, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-70803; and
Departments of Surgery and Microbiology, University of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin,4 and
Department of Immunology, DNAX Corporation, Palo Alto,
California5
Received 25 March 1998/Returned for modification 15 July
1998/Accepted 20 August 1998
Mice with targeted deletion of the gene for interleukin-10 (IL-10)
spontaneously develop enterocolitis when maintained in conventional
conditions but develop only colitis when kept in specific-pathogen-free
(SPF) environments. This study tested the hypothesis that enteric
bacteria are necessary for the development of spontaneous colitis and
immune system activation in IL-10-deficient mice. IL-10-deficient mice
were maintained in either SPF conditions or germfree conditions or were
populated with bacteria known to cause colitis in other rodent models.
IL-10-deficient mice kept in SPF conditions developed colitis in all
segments of the colon (cecum and proximal and distal colon). These mice
exhibited immune system activation as evidenced by increased expression
of CD44 on CD4+ T cells; increased mesenteric lymph node
cell numbers; and increased production of immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgG1,
and IL-12 p40 from colon fragment cultures. Mice populated with
bacterial strains, including Bacteroides vulgatus, known to
induce colitis in other rodent models had minimal colitis. Germfree
IL-10-deficient mice had no evidence of colitis or immune system
activation. We conclude therefore that resident enteric bacteria are
necessary for the development of spontaneous colitis and immune system
activation in IL-10-deficient mice.
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Resident Enteric Bacteria Are Necessary for
Development of Spontaneous Colitis and Immune System Activation in
Interleukin-10-Deficient Mice
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of
Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, CB # 7080, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7080. Phone: (919) 966-0149. Fax: (919) 966-7468. E-mail: rbs{at}med.unc.edu.
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