IL-10 Deficiency Protects Hamsters fromInfection.

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a global zoonotic disease with outcomes ranging from subclinical infection to fatal Weil's syndrome. In addition to antibiotics, some immune activators have shown protective effects against leptospirosis. However, the unclear relationship betweenand cytokines has limited the development of antileptospiral immunomodulators. In this study, the particular role of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in leptospirosis was explored by using IL-10-defective (IL-10) hamsters. Afterinfection, an improved survival rate, reduced leptospiral burden, and alleviation of organ lesions were found in IL-10hamsters compared with wild-type (WT) hamsters. In addition, the levels of expression of the IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) genes and the level of nitric oxide (NO) were higher in IL-10hamsters than in WT hamsters. Our results indicate that IL-10 deficiency protects hamsters frominfection.