The immunologic mechanism of protective immunity to the intracellular parasite Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is not well understood, however, antilisterial immunity can be adoptively transferred with T lymphocytes from Lm-immune donors. The Lm-immune cells are believed to produce macrophage-activating lymphokines, which leads to the eventual macrophage-dependent eradication of the bacterium. Increasing evidence suggests that immunity to Lm resides exclusively within the CD8+ T cell subset. It is possible that the Lm-immune CD8+ T cells function to release sequestered Lm from nonprofessional phagocytes to awaiting activated macrophage populations. This study was conducted to determine if listeriolysin O (LLO), which is an essential determinant of Lm pathogenicity, is also a target of the antilisterial immune response. We have found that target cells infected with a LLO+ Lm strain are lysed by Lm-immune cytotoxic cells, whereas target cells infected with a LLO- Lm mutant, or pulsed with a heat-killed Lm preparation, are not lysed by the Lm-immune effector cells. We have used a Bacillus subtilis (Bs) construct that expresses the LLO gene product and found that target cells infected with the LLO+ Bs construct are lysed by antilisterial cytotoxic cells. The antilisterial cytotoxic response is targeted against LLO, in that we have also used a Bs construct that expresses the perfringolysin (PLO) gene product and found that target cells infected with the PLO+ Bs are not lysed by antilisterial cytotoxic effector cells. These data strongly suggest that LLO is a target antigen of antilisterial immunity and may represent the dominant target during the expression of the immune response to Lm.
Article|
June 01 1992
Listeriolysin O is a target of the immune response to Listeria monocytogenes.
H G Bouwer,
H G Bouwer
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
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C S Nelson,
C S Nelson
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
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B L Gibbins,
B L Gibbins
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
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D A Portnoy,
D A Portnoy
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
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D J Hinrichs
D J Hinrichs
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
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H G Bouwer
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
C S Nelson
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
B L Gibbins
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
D A Portnoy
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
D J Hinrichs
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Providence Medical Center, Portland, Oregon 97213.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1992) 175 (6): 1467–1471.
Citation
H G Bouwer, C S Nelson, B L Gibbins, D A Portnoy, D J Hinrichs; Listeriolysin O is a target of the immune response to Listeria monocytogenes.. J Exp Med 1 June 1992; 175 (6): 1467–1471. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.175.6.1467
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