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Production of alpha interferon in Cowdria ruminantium-infected cattle and its effect on infected endothelial cell cultures

par Totte, Philippe;Jongejan, Frans;De Gee, Antonie L W;Werenne, John
Référence Infection and immunity, 62, 6, page (2600-2604)
Publication Publié, 1994

Article révisé par les pairs

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Résumé :

Cattle that resisted experimental heartwater infection caused by the rickettsia Cowdria ruminantium produced significant levels of circulating alpha interferon (IFN-α), whereas animals that died from heartwater did not. In vitro, recombinant bovine IFN-α was found to significantly reduce the yield of Cowdria organisms in bovine endothelial cells, but even at a high concentration (1,000 U/ml), IFN-α did not completely prevent the growth of Cowdria organisms in these cells. This limited inhibitory effect of IFN-α is in agreement with the in vivo situation where an infectious process has to take place to induce a protective immune response. Our results suggest that IFN-α produced in vivo in response to Cowdria infection may represent an efficient way to slow down the infection and allow the animal to mount a protective immune response. IFN-α is the first endogenously produced factor shown to have anti-Cowdria activity.