Comparative susceptibility to mouse interferons of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi strains with different virulence in mice and of Rickettsia rickettsii

Abstract

Three strains of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi (Karp, Gilliam, and TA716, representing three virulence types in mice) were examined for their sensitivity to the inhibitory effects of recombinant gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and purified IFN-alpha/beta in two cultured mouse fibroblast cell lines. The susceptibilities of another species, Rickettsia rickettsii, and of encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) were also tested for comparative purposes. IFN-gamma inhibited rickettsial replication in only one of the six combinations of R. tsutsugamushi strains and mouse cells (strain Gilliam and the BALB/c mouse-derived cell line). In contrast, R. rickettsii and EMCV replication were markedly inhibited in both cell types, but to a greater extent in the BALB/c line than in the C3H cells. IFN-alpha/beta (300 to 450 U/ml) was uniformly ineffective in three of the combinations of R. tsutsugamushi strains and mouse cells (Gilliam in C3H cells and Karp in both C3H and BALB/c cells); in the remaining sets, IFN-alpha/beta-mediated inhibition of rickettsial replication was variable and in no case was it very pronounced. The tests with R. rickettsii in both cell types also indicated slight, variable sensitivity to IFN-alpha/beta. EMCV, on the other hand, was very susceptible to IFN-alpha/beta, confirming the potency of the preparation used; as with IFN-gamma, virus replication was inhibited to a greater degree in the BALB/c cell line than in the C3H cultures. These results are discussed in terms of their relationship to the virulence properties of the R. tsutsugamushi strains in BALB/c and C3H mice and to the known IFN-sensitivities of the more widely studied Rickettsia prowazekii.