Prophylactic administration of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A protects Balb/c mice from fatal Leishmania major infections. It is believed that distinct subpopulations of CD4+ T lymphocytes and their distinctive cytokines may determine susceptibility and resistance to leishmaniasis among inbred strains of mice. CsA may enhance disease resistance in Balb/c mice by modulating these T cell subsets and/or their cytokines. We have measured lymphoid cell production of IL-2, IL-4, and TNF-a in naturally resistant C57/Bl/6, CsA-treated Balb/c, and nontreated Balb/c mice during the course of L. major infection. CsA treatment inhibited IL-2 and IL-4 production for the first week of infection. Thereafter the cytokine production of all three groups of mice did not differ greatly except in week two when the treated mice produced significantly enhanced levels of IL-4. C57B1/6 mice did produce slightly more TNF-a than either group of Balb/c mice, but as the CsAprotected and diseased Balb/c mice produced similar amounts of this cytokine, the elevation in C57B1/6 animals probably reflects a strain-related difference rather than disease resistance. / Department of Biology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/184203 |
| Date | January 1991 |
| Creators | Green, Lisa J. |
| Contributors | Ball State University. Dept. of Biology., Behforouz, Nancy C. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 88 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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