Abstract
To determine the role of endogenous interleukin-18 (IL-18) in pneumococcal meningitis, meningitis was induced in IL-18 gene-deficient (IL-18(-/-)) and wild-type (WT) mice by intranasal inoculation of Streptococcus pneumoniae with hyaluronidase. Induction of meningitis resulted in an upregulation of both pro- and mature IL-18 in brain tissue in WT mice. IL-18(-/-) and WT mice were equally susceptible to develop meningitis after intranasal infection, yet IL-18(-/-) mice showed a prolonged survival and a suppressed inflammatory response, as reflected by a less profound inflammatory infiltrate around the meninges and lower concentrations of cytokines and chemokines in brain tissue. These findings suggest that endogenous IL-18 contributes to a detrimental inflammatory response during pneumococcal meningitis and that elimination of IL-18 may improve the outcome of this disease.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 31-7 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroimmunology |
Volume | 138 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2003 |
Keywords
- Adjuvants, Immunologic/biosynthesis
- Animals
- Brain/pathology
- Cell Movement/genetics
- Cerebrospinal Fluid/cytology
- Chemokines/secretion
- Colony Count, Microbial
- Cytokines/secretion
- Down-Regulation/genetics
- Immunity, Innate/genetics
- Interleukin-18/biosynthesis
- Leukocytes/pathology
- Meningitis, Pneumococcal/genetics
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Mice, Knockout
- Streptococcus pneumoniae/growth & development
- Survival Rate
- Up-Regulation/genetics