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The Role Of The C5a Receptor In Host Defense Against Listeria Monocytogenes, Daniel Calame
The Role Of The C5a Receptor In Host Defense Against Listeria Monocytogenes, Daniel Calame
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a major cause of mortality resulting from food poisoning in the United States. While the complement component C5 is known to be protective in listeriosis, it is unknown how its cleavage fragment C5a participates. Here we show in a model of systemic Lm infection that the C5a receptor is essential for host defense. C5aR-/- mice have reduced survival and increased bacterial burden in the liver and spleen in comparison to WT mice. Surprisingly, C5aR-/- mice also have a dramatic reduction in splenocyte numbers resulting from elevated cell death as indicated by TUNEL staining and caspase 3 …