Josefa Bezerra Da Silva
Butantan Institute-Sao Paulo State Secretary of Health, Brazil
Title: Chemokines transcripts expression in mice and correlation with resistance to Leptospira infection
Biography
Biography: Josefa Bezerra Da Silva
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Leptospirosis is a worldwide-spread disease, affecting most mammalian species. Clinical signs can be confusing with other diseases; it is difficult in diagnosis and treatment. Chemokines are cytokines known for their role in inflammatory and immune responses to infections. Profiling chemokine expression in the course of infection may elucidate the defense mechanisms of the host. The proposal of this study is to evaluate the expression of chemokines induced by L. interrogans infection in mice strains C3H/HeJ (mutated toll4 receptor), C3H/HePas and BALB/c, respectively susceptible, intermediary and resistant to leptospirosis.
Methodology & Findings: Five mice from each strain were inoculated with virulent L. interrogans. Three and twenty four hours later animals were sacrificed and lungs and spleens were collected for chemokines profiling by qPCR. Smaller changes in chemokines expression were found in samples of lung of C3H/HeJ mice when compared to other lineages. In lung of Balb/C the expression of some chemokines were significantly elevated CXCL12 (p<0.05), CXCL16 and its receptor CXCR6 (p<0.001 and p<0.01), CXCL5 and CXCL10 (p<0.05). In C3H/HePas we detected significant increase of CXCL9 (p<0.001) and CXCL10 (p<0.01) chemokines transcripts.
Conclusion & Significance: The mice strains C3H/HePas and C3H/HeJ present the same genetic background, thus, the mutation in toll4 receptor in C3H/HeJ may be responsible for the differences in chemokine profiles and in the resulting different susceptibilities to Leptospira infection and survival. The early and most general expression of CXC chemokines especially in BALB/c that presents lower morbidity in leptospirosis, indicate an association of resistance with transcripts of CXC chemokines during infection, thus contributing to solve the disease.