Immune response to infection with Salmonella typhimurium in mice

Abstract: Infection of mice with Salmonella typhi-murium results in systemic infection and a disease similar to that seen in humans after infection with S. typhi. The innate immune system can restrict repli-cation of S. typhimurium to a certain degree, but for effective control and eradication of bacteria, acquired immunity is essential. Salmonella infec-tion induces the generation of specific CD41 and CD81 T cells, and both T cell populations are important for protection during primary and sec-ondary responses, although the mechanisms under-lying T cell-mediated protection are not yet com-pletely understood. Infection with S. typhimurium also results in a strong antibody response to Salmo-nella antigens and, in contrast to most other intra-cellular bacteria, this antibody response partici-pates in protection. In summary, the response to S. typhimurium involves both T and B cell-mediated immunity, and mechanisms mediated by both lym-phocyte populations are important for control of primary infection and protection against secondary infection. J. Leukoc. Biol. 67: 457–463; 2000