Interleukin 38 Protects Against Lethal Sepsis

Exogenous interleukin-12 protects against lethal infection with coxsackievirus B4.

Infections with the group B coxsackieviruses either can be asymptomatic or can lead to debilitating chronic diseases. To elucidate the mechanism by which these viruses cause chronic disease, we developed a mouse model of chronic pancreatitis by using a virulent variant of coxsackievirus B4, CVB4-V. Infection with CVB4-V results in an early, severe pancreatitis, which can lead to mortality or pr...

Interleukin 10 protects mice from lethal endotoxemia

Interleukin 10 (IL-10) decreases production of IL-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in vitro, and neutralization of IL-10 in mice leads to elevation of the same monokines. We test here whether this monokine-suppressing property of IL-10 confers on it the capacity to protect mice from lipopolysaccharide-induced shock, a monokine-mediated inflammatory reaction. A single injecti...

Splenectomy Protects against Sepsis Lethality

Chronic acid water feeding protects mice against lethal gut-derived sepsis due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Acidified feeding formulas have been proposed as a method of controlling gastrointestinal colonization and nosocomial infection in critically ill patients. We examined possible mechanisms by which chronic acid water feeding might protect the host against lethal gut derived sepsis by assessing its effect on both local intestinal epithelial barrier function to bacteria as well as on local and sys...

Passive Immunotherapy Protects against Enteric Invasion and Lethal Sepsis in a Murine Model of Gastrointestinal Anthrax

The principal portal for anthrax infection in natural animal outbreaks is the digestive tract. Enteric exposure to anthrax, which is difficult to detect or prevent in a timely manner, could be exploited as an act of terror through contamination of human or animal food. Our group has developed a novel animal model of gastrointestinal (GI) anthrax for evaluation of disease pathogenesis and experi...