Differential Regulation of the Interleukin-12 Receptor during the Innate Immune Response to Leishmania major |
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Authors: | Douglas Jones M. Merle Elloso Louise Showe Donna Williams Giorgio Trinchieri Phillip Scott |
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Affiliation: | Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania,1. and The Wistar Institute,2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 |
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Abstract: | Previous studies have shown the central role of interleukin 12 (IL-12) in the development of resistance to Leishmania major infection in C3H mice. We now show that during the innate immune response the lymph node cells of L. major-infected C3H mice upregulate the IL-12 receptor on CD4+, CD8+, and B220+ cells. An increase in the ability of the lymph node cells to bind IL-12 correlates with 9.3- and 4.6-fold increases in the mRNA expression levels of the IL-12Rβ1 and -β2 subunits, respectively. In contrast, BALB/c mice, which are susceptible to L. major infection, have no increase in the ability of the lymph node cells to bind IL-12 and correspondingly smaller increases in the mRNA expression levels of the IL-12Rβ1 and -β2 subunits of 2- and 1.5-fold, respectively. Neutralizing IL-4 and the administration of exogenous IL-12 upregulate IL-12R expression in BALB/c mice, while the neutralization of IL-12 in C3H mice blocks increased IL-12 receptor expression. These experiments reveal an important role for the regulation of the IL-12 receptor during the innate immune response after infection of mice with a pathogen. |
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