Neisseria meningitidis strains from patients with invasive meningococcal disease differ in stimulation of cytokine production
2007
Abstrakt
Cytokine production was determinedin vitro after stimulation with three differentNeisseria meningitidis (NM) strains. Virulent NM B strain isolated from a patient with mild course of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) elicited higher cytokine production than NM B and NM C hypervirulent strains isolated from patients with moderate and fatal course of IMD, respectively.
Endotoxin concentration afterin vitro stimulation correlated with cytokine production: the highest endotoxin levels were observed with virulent NM B strain. Serum cytokines and endotoxin levels showed an opposite trend.
These results suggest that inflammatory response during IMD is predominantly influenced by host factors.