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Infection and Immunity, January 2001, p. 129-136, Vol. 69, No. 1
Centre for the Study of Host Resistance,
McGill University and The Montreal General Hospital Research Institute,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada,1 and Ludwig
Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
100212
Received 28 June 2000/Returned for modification 30 July
2000/Accepted 8 October 2000
The contribution of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating
factor (GM-CSF), a hematopoietic and immunoregulatory cytokine, to
resistance to blood-stage malaria was investigated by infecting GM-CSF-deficient (knockout [KO]) mice with Plasmodium
chabaudi AS. KO mice were more susceptible to infection than
wild-type (WT) mice, as evidenced by higher peak parasitemia, recurrent recrudescent parasitemia, and high mortality. P. chabaudi
AS-infected KO mice had impaired splenomegaly and lower leukocytosis
but equivalent levels of anemia compared to infected WT mice. Both bone
marrow and splenic erythropoiesis were normal in infected KO mice.
However, granulocyte-macrophage colony formation was significantly
decreased in these tissues of uninfected and infected KO mice, and the
numbers of macrophages in the spleen and peritoneal cavity were
significantly lower than in infected WT mice. Serum levels of gamma
interferon (IFN-
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.1.129-136.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating
Factor-Deficient Mice Have Impaired Resistance to Blood-Stage
Malaria

) were found to be significantly higher in
uninfected KO mice, and the level of this cytokine was not increased
during infection. In contrast, IFN-
levels were significantly above normal levels in infected WT mice. During infection, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-
) levels were significantly increased in KO mice
and were significantly higher than TNF-
levels in infected WT mice.
Our results indicate that GM-CSF contributes to resistance to P. chabaudi AS infection and that it is involved in the development of splenomegaly, leukocytosis, and granulocyte-macrophage
hematopoiesis. GM-CSF may also regulate IFN-
and TNF-
production
and activity in response to infection. The abnormal responses seen in
infected KO mice may be due to the lack of GM-CSF during development,
to the lack of GM-CSF in the infected mature mice, or to both.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Montreal General
Hospital Research Institute, 1650 Cedar Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A4,
Canada. Phone: (514) 937-6011, ext. 4507. Fax: (514) 934-8332. E-mail:
mcev{at}musica.mcgill.ca.
Present address: Department of Pediatrics, IWK Grace Children's
Hospital, Halifax, NS B3J 3G9, Canada.
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