Requirement for Bone Marrow-Derived Cells in Resistance to Listeria

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Abstract
Experiments were designed to study the participation of bone marrow-derived cells in mediating resistance to Listeria monocytogenes. Lethally irradiated normal mice were injected with various combinations of bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and peritoneal exudate cells. Eight to 10 days later, the mice were challenged with Listeria, and assayed for resistance by determining the number of Listeria in their spleens, livers, and blood 48 hr after challenge. In some experiments, survival was used as an indicator of resistance. Since the injected cells were from normal animals, and since antigen was not knowingly administered to the recipient mice, the resistance studied here is probably due primarily to nonspecific rather than specific mechanisms. Mice injected with bone marrow with or without the addition of thymus cells were resistant to challenge; whereas mice injected with thymus cells, with peritoneal exudate cells, with both these cell types, with spleen cells, or with no cells were not resistant to Listeria. Since neither peritoneal macrophages nor spleen cells would substitute for bone marrow cells, and since anti-ϑ-treated bone marrow cells were effective, these data suggest that a bone marrow-derived cell in addition to the macrophage is required. In addition, it was found that these irradiated, bone marrow-injected mice appear to be more resistant to Listeria than are normal mice, and can resist supra-lethal doses of the bacterium as do previously immunized mice.

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