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Suppressive Activity of Splenic Macrophages Induced by Transparent and Opaque Colonial Variants of Mycobacterium avium Complex against Lymphoproliferative Response
Author(s) -
Tomioka Haruaki,
Saito Hajime
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1993.tb03239.x
Subject(s) - biology , concanavalin a , spleen , mycobacterium avium complex , immunology , mycobacterium , immune system , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , genetics , in vitro
Splenic macrophages (Møs) induced by the two colonial variants of Mycobacterium avium complex, SmT variant (smooth, transparent, flat) and SmD variant (smooth, opaque, dome‐shaped), were studied for their suppressive activity against mitogenic response of splenic T cells to concanavalin A (ConA). The SmT variant is much more virulent than the SmD variant and causes more severe infection in host mice. Moreover, suppressed state of ConA mitogenic response of host spleen cells persisted much longer in SmT‐infected mice than in SmD‐infected ones. However, the suppressive activity of SmT‐induced Møs, induced around 2 weeks after infection, against lymphoproliferative response was significantly weaker than SmD‐induced Møs. In contrast, the former Møs showed somewhat higher active oxygen‐producing ability than the latter, as based on the chemiluminescence. These findings indicate that the immunosuppressive Møs transiently induced in the early phase of M. intracellulare infection hardly affect the host resistance to the organisms and, thus, play relatively minor role in the progression of the infection.