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Infection and Immunity, January 2002, p. 27-35, Vol. 70, No. 1
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.1.27-35.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Interleukin-2 and Loss of Immunity in Experimental Mycobacterium avium Infection

Stuart I. Mannering* and Christina Cheers

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

Received 14 May 2001/ Returned for modification 16 July 2001/ Accepted 21 September 2001

Experimental infection of mice with a virulent strain of Mycobacterium avium leads to a slowly progressive disease, which we have previously shown culminates in loss of gamma interferon (IFN-{gamma}) production by T lymphocytes and death of the animals approximately 40 weeks after infection. Here we investigated the changes in T-cell activation, the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2), and the response to IL-2 throughout M. avium infection as a possible explanation for this loss. We found that there is a steady increase in the percentage of T cells expressing activation markers right to the end of infection. However, in vivo T-cell proliferation, measured as a percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ cells incorporating 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine, initially increased but then remained constant. In the final stages of infection there was a decline in proliferation of activated (CD62L-) T cells. Since IL-2 is a major driver of T-cell proliferation, we asked whether this was due to loss of IL-2 responsiveness or production. However, CD25 (IL-2R{alpha}) continued to be highly expressed in the terminal stages of infection, and although IL-2 production declined, addition of recombinant IL-2 to cultures could not rescue the final loss of IFN-{gamma} production.

* Corresponding author. Present address: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, PO Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia. Phone: 613-9345-2563. Fax: 613-9347-0852. Email: mannering{at}wehi.edu.au.

Editor: S. H. E. Kaufmann

Infection and Immunity, January 2002, p. 27-35, Vol. 70, No. 1
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.1.27-35.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Florido, M., Pearl, J. E., Solache, A., Borges, M., Haynes, L., Cooper, A. M., Appelberg, R. (2005). Gamma Interferon-Induced T-Cell Loss in Virulent Mycobacterium avium Infection. Infect. Immun. 73: 3577-3586 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gilbertson, B., Germano, S., Steele, P., Turner, S., de St. Groth, B. F., Cheers, C. (2004). Bystander Activation of CD8+ T Lymphocytes during Experimental Mycobacterial Infection. Infect. Immun. 72: 6884-6891 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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