In:
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 52, No. 6 ( 2008-06), p. 2169-2174
Kurzfassung:
Microsporidia are eukaryotic, obligate, intracellular protists that are emerging pathogens in immunocompromised hosts, including AIDS patients and organ transplant recipients. The efficacy of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) for the treatment of microsporidiosis caused by Encephalitozoon cuniculi was studied by means of adoptive transfer and IFN-γ administration in SCID mice. While the adoptive transfer of CD4 + T cells from immunocompetent mice prolonged survival of SCID mice infected perorally with E. cuniculi , survival was not improved by adoptive transfer of CD4 + T lymphocytes from IFN-γ-deficient mice. The protective effect of IFN-γ was confirmed in cytokine therapy experiments in which SCID mice receiving IFN-γ survived significantly longer than mice receiving mock injections. The administration of serum containing specific antibodies against E. cuniculi was found to prolong the survival of concurrently IFN-γ-treated SCID mice. The data presented in this study suggest that IFN-γ is potentially useful as a cytokine therapy for microsporidiosis, especially in CD4 + T-cell-deficient patients.
Materialart:
Online-Ressource
ISSN:
0066-4804
,
1098-6596
DOI:
10.1128/AAC.01506-07
Sprache:
Englisch
Verlag:
American Society for Microbiology
Publikationsdatum:
2008
ZDB Id:
1496156-8
SSG:
12
SSG:
15,3
