Naessens Jan, Kitani Hiroshi, Momotani Eiichi, Sekikawa Kenji, Nthale Joseph M, Iraqi Fuad
International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi 00100, Kenya.
Acta Trop. 2004 Nov-Dec;92(3):193-203. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2004.05.015.
C57BL/6 mice deficient in one or two copies of the gene for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) were more susceptible to Trypanosoma congolense infection than their resistant, wild-type counterparts. The number of TNF-alpha genes was correlated with the capacity to control parasitaemia and with survival time. Absence of TNF-alpha resulted in a diminished capacity to form germinal centres in lymph nodes and spleen. Since germinal centres are involved in antibody production and affinity maturation, the susceptibility of the TNF-alpha-deficient mice could have been due to this secondary defect. Despite the lack of the germinal centres, the antibody responses to internal and exposed trypanosome antigens and to non-trypanosome antigens were not significantly different. Also the relative avidities measured in infected sera did not significantly differ between the two mouse strains. These data suggest that the role of TNF-alpha in control of T. congolense was not due to its role in the development of an antibody response.
肿瘤坏死因子α（TNF-α）基因缺失一个或两个拷贝的C57BL/6小鼠比具有抗性的野生型同窝小鼠更易感染刚果锥虫。TNF-α基因的数量与控制寄生虫血症的能力以及存活时间相关。缺乏TNF-α会导致淋巴结和脾脏中形成生发中心的能力减弱。由于生发中心参与抗体产生和亲和力成熟，TNF-α缺陷小鼠的易感性可能归因于这种继发性缺陷。尽管缺乏生发中心，但对内部和暴露的锥虫抗原以及非锥虫抗原的抗体反应在两组小鼠中并无显著差异。在感染血清中测得的相对亲和力在两种小鼠品系之间也没有显著差异。这些数据表明，TNF-α在控制刚果锥虫感染中的作用并非因其在抗体反应发展中的作用。
