scholarly journals Both Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase and NADPH Oxidase Contribute to the Control of Virulent Phase I Coxiella burnetii Infections

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 6666-6675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Brennan ◽  
Kasi Russell ◽  
Guoquan Zhang ◽  
James E. Samuel

ABSTRACT Host control of Coxiella burnetii infections is believed to be mediated primarily by activated monocytes/macrophages. The activation of macrophages by cytokines leads to the production of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) and reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) that have potent antimicrobial activities. The contributions of ROI and RNI to the inhibition of C. burnetii replication were examined in vitro by the use of murine macrophage-like cell lines and primary mouse macrophages. A gamma interferon (IFN-γ) treatment of infected cell lines and primary macrophages resulted in an increased production of nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and a significant inhibition of C. burnetii replication. The inhibition of replication was reversed in the murine cell line J774.16 upon the addition of either the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (NGMMLA) or the H2O2 scavenger catalase. IFN-γ-treated primary macrophages from iNOS−/− and p47phox−/− mice significantly inhibited replication but were less efficient at controlling infection than IFN-γ-treated wild-type macrophages. To investigate the contributions of ROI and RNI to resistance to infection, we performed in vivo studies, using C57BL/6 wild-type mice and knockout mice lacking iNOS or p47phox. Both iNOS−/− and p47phox−/− mice were attenuated in the ability to control C. burnetii infection compared to wild-type mice. Together, these results strongly support a role for both RNI and ROI in the host control of C. burnetii infection.

2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 779-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suwako Fujigaki ◽  
Kuniaki Saito ◽  
Masao Takemura ◽  
Naoya Maekawa ◽  
Yasuhiro Yamada ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT l-Tryptophan degradation by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) might have an important role in gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-induced antimicrobial effects. In the present study, the effects of Toxoplasma gondii infection on IDO were investigated by using wild-type and IFN-γ-gene-deficient (knockout) (IFN-γ KO) mice. In wild-type C57BL/6J mice, enzyme activities and mRNA levels for IDO in both lungs and brain were markedly increased and lung l-tryptophan concentrations were dramatically decreased following T. gondii infection. In contrast, these metabolic changes did not occur in T. gondii-infected IFN-γ KO mice or in uninfected IFN-γ KO mice. The levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction in infected IFN-γ KO mice were high in lungs and low in brain compared to those in infected wild-type mice. The extent of increased mRNA expression of T. gondii surface antigen gene 2 (SAG2) induced in lungs and brain by T. gondii infection was significantly enhanced in IFN-γ KO mice compared to wild-type mice on day 7 postinfection. Treatment with N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester, an iNOS inhibitor, increased the levels of SAG2 mRNA in brain but not in lungs and of plasma l-kynurenine after T. gondii infection. This in vivo study provides evidence that l-tryptophan depletion caused by T. gondii is directly mediated by IFN-γ in the lungs, where iNOS is not induced by IFN-γ. This study suggests that there is an antitoxoplasma mechanism of cross-regulation between iNOS and IDO and that the expression of the main antiparasite effector mechanisms for iNOS and/or IDO may vary among tissues.


2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 4081-4089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara L. Cummings ◽  
Rick L. Tarleton

ABSTRACT Immune control of many intracellular pathogens, including Trypanosoma cruzi, is reported to be dependent on the production of nitric oxide. In this study, we show that mice deficient in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS or NOS2) exhibit resistance to T. cruzi infection that is comparable to that of wild-type mice. This is the case for two iNOS-deficient mouse strains, Nos2tm1Lau and Nos2 N5, infected with the Brazil or Tulahuen strain of T. cruzi. In all cases, blood parasitemia, tissue parasite load, and survival rates are similar between wild-type and iNOS-deficient mice. In contrast, both wild-type and Nos2tm1Lau mice died within 32 days postinfection when treated with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor aminoguanidine. Increased transcription of NOS1 or NOS3 is not found in iNOS-knockout (KO) mice, indicating that the absence of nitric oxide production through iNOS is not compensated for by increased production of other NOS isoforms. However, Nos2tm1Lau mice exhibit enhanced expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-1, and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α compared to that of wild-type mice, and these alterations may in part compensate for the lack of iNOS. These results clearly show that iNOS is not required for control of T. cruzi infection in mice.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (2) ◽  
pp. E615-E620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben A. Weissman ◽  
Chantal M. Sottas ◽  
Ping Zhou ◽  
Costantino Iadecola ◽  
Matthew P. Hardy

Immobilization stress (IMO) induces a rapid increase in glucocorticoid secretion [in rodents, corticosterone CORT)] and this is associated with decreased circulating testosterone (T) levels. Nitric oxide (NO), a reactive free radical and neurotransmitter, has been reported to be produced at higher rates in tissues such as brain during stress. The biosynthesis of T is also known to be dramatically suppressed by NO. Specifically, the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was directly implicated in this suppression. To assess the respective roles of CORT and NO in stress-mediated inhibition of T production, adult wild-type (WT) and inducible nitric oxide synthase knockout (iNOS−/−) male mice were evaluated. Animals of each genotype were assigned to either basal control or 3-h IMO groups. Basal plasma and testicular T levels were equivalent in both genotypes, whereas testicular weights of mutant mice were significantly higher compared with WT animals. Exposure to 3-h IMO increased plasma CORT and decreased T concentrations in mice of both genotypes. Testicular T levels were also affected by stress in WT and mutant males, being sharply reduced in both genotypes. However, the concentrations of nitrite and nitrate, the stable metabolites of NO measured in testicular extracts, did not differ between control and stressed WT and iNOS−/− mice. These results support the hypothesis that CORT, but not NO, is a plausible candidate to mediate rapid stress-induced suppression of Leydig cell steroidogenesis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 194 (12) ◽  
pp. 1847-1859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Ehlers ◽  
Jochen Benini ◽  
Heinz-Dieter Held ◽  
Christiane Roeck ◽  
Gottfried Alber ◽  
...  

The immunological basis of tuberculin-induced necrosis, known for more than a century as “Koch's phenomenon,” remains poorly understood. Aerosol infection in mice with the highly virulent Mycobacterium avium strain TMC724 causes progressive pulmonary pathology strongly resembling caseating necrosis in human patients with tuberculosis. To identify the cellular and molecular mediators causing this pathology, we infected C57BL/6 mice and mice selectively deficient in recombinase activating gene (RAG)-1, αβ T cell receptor (TCR), γδ TCR, CD4, CD8, β2-microglobulin, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12p35, IL-12p35/p40, or iNOS with M. avium by aerosol and compared bacterial multiplication, histopathology, and respiratory physiology in these mice. The bacterial load in the lung was similarly high in all mouse groups. Pulmonary compliance, as a surrogate marker for granulomatous infiltrations in the lung, deteriorated to a similar extent in all groups of mice, except in αβ TCR-knockout (KO) and IL-12–KO mice in which compliance was higher, and in IFN-γ and inducible nitric oxide synthase–KO mice in which compliance was reduced faster. Progressive caseation of pulmonary granulomas never occurred in αβ TCR-KO, IL-12–KO, and IFN-γ–KO mice and was reduced in CD4-KO mice. In summary, αβ TCR+ cells and IFN-γ are essential for the development of mycobacteria-induced pulmonary caseous necrosis. In contrast, high mycobacterial load and extensive granulomatous infiltration per se are not sufficient to cause caseation, nor is granuloma necrosis linked to the induction of nitric oxide.


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