Susceptibility of aging mice to listeriosis: Role of anti-inflammatory responses with enhanced Treg-cell expression of CD39/CD73 and Th-17 cells.

Susceptibility of aging mice to listeriosis: Role of anti-inflammatory responses with enhanced Treg-cell expression of CD39/CD73 and Th-17 cells. Int J Med Microbiol. 2020 Jan 16;:151397 Authors: Alam MS, Cavanaugh C, Pereira M, Babu U, Williams K Abstract Foodborne Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) causes serious illness and death in immunosuppressed hosts, including the elderly population. We investigated Lm susceptibility and inflammatory cytokines in geriatric mice. Young-adult and old mice were gavaged with a Lm strain Lmo-InlAm. Tissues were assayed for Lm burden and splenocytes were analyzed for Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg responses and expression of CD39 and CD73. Old Lm-infected mice lost body-weight dose-dependently, had higher Lm colonization, and showed higher inflammatory responses than Lm-infected young-adult mice. After infection, IL-17 levels increased significantly in old mice whereas IFN-γ levels were unchanged. Levels of IL-10 and Treg cells were increased in infected old mice as compared to infected young-adult mice. Age-dependent enhanced expression of CD39/CD73 was observed in purified Treg prior to infection, suggesting increased baseline adenosine production in old mice. Lm lysate-treated splenocytes from older mice produced significantly higher levels of IL-10, IL17, and IL-1β, produced less IFN-γ and IL-2, and proliferated less than splenocytes from young-adult mice. Data suggests that older mice maybe more susceptible t...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: research