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. 1999 Jun 1;162(11):6734-9.

Improved clearance of Mycobacterium avium upon disruption of the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene

Affiliations
  • PMID: 10352292

Improved clearance of Mycobacterium avium upon disruption of the inducible nitric oxide synthase gene

M S Gomes et al. J Immunol. .

Abstract

Mice genetically deficient in the inducible NO synthase gene (iNOS-/-) were used to study the role played by NO during infection by Mycobacterium avium. iNOS-/- macrophages were equally able to restrict M. avium growth in vitro following stimulation by IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha as macrophages from wild-type mice. In vivo, the infection progressed at similar rates in wild-type and NO-deficient mice during the first 2 mo of infection, but the latter mice were subsequently more efficient in clearing the mycobacteria than the former. The increased resistance of iNOS-/- mice was associated with higher IFN-gamma levels in the serum and following in vitro restimulation of spleen cells with specific Ag, increased formation of granulomas and increased survival of CD4+ T cells. We show that NO is not involved in the antimycobacterial mechanisms of M. avium-infected macrophages and, furthermore, that it exacerbates the infection by causing the suppression of the immune response to the pathogen.

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