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Mats Ericsson, Gunnar Sandström, Anders Sjöstedt, Arne Tärnvik, Persistence of Cell-Mediated Immunity and Decline of Humoral Immunity to the Intracellular Bacterium Francisella tularensis 25 Years after Natural Infection, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 170, Issue 1, July 1994, Pages 110–114, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/170.1.110
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Abstract
The humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to the facultative intracellular pathogen Francisella tularensis were studied in subjectswho had tularemia 25 years earlier. Serum agglutinin titers were low. Of 53 subjects, only 2 had a titer >40. The F. tularensis-induced T cell response, on the other hand, was vigorous and in fact similar in magnitude to the response to purified protein derivative (PPD) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, T cells.from 44 of 52 subjects showed a significant (P < .05) proliferative response in vitro to each of four membrane proteins of F. tularensis. Only 2 subjects did not respond to any of the proteins, In most cultures from 18 subjects tested, interferon-γ was produced in response to the proteins. During the last 25 years, tularemia has been reported only rarely in the region where the subjects lived, suggesting that an antigen-specific T cell response may persist after tularemia independently of reexposure to F. tularensis.
- agglutinins
- antigens
- francisella tularensis
- immunity, cellular
- interferons
- membrane proteins
- mycobacterium tuberculosis
- t-lymphocytes
- tularemia
- infections
- bacteria
- pathogenic organism
- tuberculin, purified protein derivative
- immunity, humoral
- immune response, cell-mediated
- human leukocyte interferon
- pathogenicity