Efficacy and safety of intratracheal IFN-γ treatment to reverse stroke-induced susceptibility to pulmonary bacterial infections

J Neuroimmunol. 2021 Jun 15:355:577568. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2021.577568. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

Abstract

Stroke-induced immunosuppression contributes to the development of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP). Experiments in mice demonstrated that apoptosis of IFN-γ producing cells and reduced IFN-γ secretion resulted in impaired immune responses and the development of pneumonia after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo). In the present study, we investigated the efficacy of intratracheal IFN-γ treatment to prevent SAP and demonstrated that modest benefits on pulmonary cytokine response in IFN-γ treated stroke mice did not prevent spontaneously developing infections and even slightly reduced bacterial clearance of aspirated pneumococci. Our results suggest that pulmonary IFN-γ treatment is not an effective preventive measure for SAP.

Keywords: IFN-γ; Immunomodulation; Lung; MCAo; Stroke-associated pneumonia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Injections, Spinal
  • Interferon-gamma / administration & dosage*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Pneumococcal Infections / drug therapy*
  • Pneumococcal Infections / etiology
  • Pneumococcal Infections / immunology
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / drug therapy*
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / etiology
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / immunology
  • Stroke / complications
  • Stroke / drug therapy*
  • Stroke / immunology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Interferon-gamma