Tumor necrosis factor/cachectin (TNF/C) is the principal mediator of bacterial endotoxin-induced shock and death. We found that the C3H/HeJ mouse, which is less able to produce TNF/C in response to endotoxin, has a 1,000-fold greater susceptibility to lethal infection with Escherichia coli than the TNF-responsive congenic mouse, C3H/HeN. This surprising finding suggested that this lethal peptide may also be involved in host protection. To test this hypothesis we pretreated the C3H/HeJ mouse with a combination of recombinant murine TNF/C-alpha and IL-1 alpha. This combination protected these mice against an intraperitoneal bacterial challenge of greater than 20 LD50S (nearly 2 x 10(2) CFU) that grew to a level of greater than 10(7) CFU/ml of blood and per gram of liver in untreated mice. This suggests a significant role for these cytokines in host defenses against invasive infections that require bacterial replication within the host. These protective mechanisms may not be important for less virulent organisms. These findings may have important implications for the proposed use of anti-TNF/C agents in the treatment of septic shock.
Article|
June 01 1989
Pretreatment with recombinant murine tumor necrosis factor alpha/cachectin and murine interleukin 1 alpha protects mice from lethal bacterial infection.
A S Cross,
A S Cross
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
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J C Sadoff,
J C Sadoff
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
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N Kelly,
N Kelly
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
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E Bernton,
E Bernton
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
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P Gemski
P Gemski
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
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A S Cross
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
J C Sadoff
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
N Kelly
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
E Bernton
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
P Gemski
Department of Bacterial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, DC 20307.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1989) 169 (6): 2021–2027.
Citation
A S Cross, J C Sadoff, N Kelly, E Bernton, P Gemski; Pretreatment with recombinant murine tumor necrosis factor alpha/cachectin and murine interleukin 1 alpha protects mice from lethal bacterial infection.. J Exp Med 1 June 1989; 169 (6): 2021–2027. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.169.6.2021
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