Affiliation:
1. Montefiore Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
2. Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Abstract
We investigated the effect of starvation on the course of
Listeria monocytogenes
infections in mice. Mice starved for 24, 48, or 72 h and then inoculated with a lethal dose of
L. monocytogenes
showed significantly less mortality than mice not starved (i.e., fed mice). The protective effect of 48 or 72 h of starvation began immediately after the starvation period and persisted for at least 48 h. Starved, infected mice had significantly fewer
L. monocytogenes
cells in their spleens 2, 3, and 4 days after infection than did fed mice. Neither changes in T-lymphocyte function nor serum factors appeared to be responsible for the protective effect. Delayed hypersensitivity responses to
L. monocytogenes
antigen were smaller in starved mice than in fed mice. Adoptive transfer of spleen cells from nonimmune starved mice did not protect against
L. monocytogenes
. Additional studies indicated that the serum of starved mice did not inhibit multiplication of
L. monocytogenes
in vitro, nor was it able to transfer protection against
L. monocytogenes
to normal mice. In contrast, peritoneal macrophages from starved mice inhibited deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis of P815 tumor cells compared with macrophages from control mice. Therefore, the resistance of starved mice to
L. monocytogenes
is most likely due to nonspecific factors, one of which may be activation of macrophages.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Immunology,Microbiology,Parasitology
Cited by
63 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献