Relative susceptibilities of inbred mouse strains C57BL/6 and A/J to infection with Histoplasma capsulatum.

Differences in the 30-day survival of Histoplasma capsulatum after intravenous injection indicated that the A/J strain of inbred mouse was more resistant to experimental infection than was the C57BL/6 strain. CFU from the spleens of infected animals increased during the first week after injection but gradually declined over the next 3 weeks. The CFU per gram of tissue in the C57BL/6 animals were 10- to 100-fold higher than were those in the A/J mice during the time between 7 and 28 days after infection. The units of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in supernatants of spleen cells stimulated with heat-killed yeast cells of H. capsulatum reached a peak at the time of the largest number of CFU per gram of tissue. The titers of IFN-gamma at days 3 to 5 were higher in the A/J mice than they were in the C57BL/6 mice, but from days 7 to 28, the titers of IFN-gamma were not correlated with the more efficient clearance of the fungus from the spleens of A/J mice. The L3T4+ spleen cells were shown to be active IFN-gamma producers. Treatment of Histoplasma-infected mice with anti-IFN-gamma antibody resulted in much larger tissue burdens of the fungus in the lungs and spleens of treated animals than in untreated animals. There was no marked difference in the result of treatment with anti-IFN-gamma antibody between A/J and C57BL/6 mice. Treatment of Histoplasma-infected mice with recombinant murine IFN-gamma did not alter the course of infection in either inbred strain of mouse.