TABLE 1.
Effects of mouse mutations on persistence of wild-type and virB mutant B. abortus relative to responses in C57BL/6 mice
| Mouse strain | Principal defect | Effect on persistence ofa:
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild type | virB mutant | ||
| Ifng−/− | IFN-γ | + | 0 |
| β2m−/− | MHC class I, CD8+ T cells | 0 | 0 |
| Rag-1−/− | B and T cells | 0 | + |
| Cd4−/− | CD4+ T cells | − | +/0b |
| Igh6−/− | B cells | 0/−c | + |
a
+, the B. abortus strain persists at a higher level in mutant mice than in C57BL/6 mice; −, the B. abortus strain persists at a lower level in the mutant mouse strain than in C57BL/6; 0, no effect on the level of persistence.
b
The virB mutant persisted at a higher level in mutant mice after mixed infection, but no significant difference was observed after individual infection.
c
No effect on persistence of wild-type B. abortus was observed after mixed infection, but after individual infection of Igh6−/−mice, spleens were colonized at a lower level 21 days postinfection.