Titel:
Antigen-beladene Langerhanszellen schützen empfängliche Mäuse vor Infektionen mit dem Parasiten Leishmania major
Projektleitung an der Universität Würzburg:
Beteiligte Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler:
Kurzbeschreibung:
Efficient vaccination against the parasite Leishmania major, the causative agent of human cutaneous leishmaniasis, requires the development of a resistance-promoting CD4-mediated Th1 response. Epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) are critically involved in the induction of the primary immune response to Leishmania infection. They are able to ingest the parasites, to express MHC class II molecules with extraordinarily long half-life and to activate naive L. major-specific Th cells. Considering these unique properties, we studied the capacity of LC to mediate resistance to L. major in vivo. A single intravenous application of LC that had been pulsed with L. major antigen in vitro induced protection in susceptible mice against subsequent challenges with L. major parasites. Resistance could neither be induced by unpulsed LC nor by L. major antigen alone or by L. major-pulsed macrophages. Development of resistance was paralleled by a reduced parasite burden and by a shift of the cytokine expression towards a Th1-like pattern. In contrast, control mice developed a Th2 response. In vitro exposure of LC to L. major antigen induced the expression of IL-12. In conclusion, the data demonstrate that LC are able to serve as a natural adjuvant and to induce a protective immune response to Leishmania infection. This effect is based on the initiation of a Th1-like response that is likely to be mediated by IL-12.
Schlagworte:
Infektion
Parasiten
dendritische Zellen
Impfung
T-Zellen
Laufzeit: von 01.1995 bis 12.1997
Förderinstitution:
Bund
Publikationen: