Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
12
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-6-6
pubmed:abstractText
Infection of different strains of laboratory mice with the agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, results in arthritis, the severity of which has been correlated with the dominance of Th1 cytokines. In this study, we demonstrate that changes in B. burgdorferi-specific immunologic responses associated with pregnancy can alter the outcome of Lyme arthritis in mice. Whereas nonpregnant female C3H mice consistently developed severe Lyme arthritis, pregnant mice had a marked reduction in arthritis severity that was associated with a slight reduction in IFN-gamma and markedly increased levels of IL-4 production by B. burgdorferi-specific T cells. Similar reductions in arthritis severity and patterns of cytokine production were observed in nonpregnant, progesterone-implanted mice. Ab neutralization of IL-4 in progesterone-implanted mice resulted in severe arthritis. Our results are consistent with the known shift toward Th2 cytokine expression at the maternal-fetal interface, and are the first to show a pregnancy-related therapeutic effect in an infectious model.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
0022-1767
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
166
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
7404-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
Gestational attenuation of Lyme arthritis is mediated by progesterone and IL-4.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Immunology, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.