Abstract
Treatment of mice with a monoclonal antibody (mAb) designated NIMP-R10, directed against the CD11b polypeptide of the CD18/CD11b heterodimeric type 3 complement receptor (CR3), exacerbates listeriosis by preventing myelomonocytic cells from focusing at sites of infected hepatocytes in the liver. Under these conditions an otherwise sublethal Listeria inoculum grows unrestrictedly within hepatocytes and causes death in 3 days. The results obtained with NIMP-R10 are similar to those previously obtained with a different anti-CD11b mAb (5C6), although mAb NIMP-R10 is more effective at enhancing infection. Therefore, both mAbs can be used to analyze host antibacterial defenses in vivo.