Experimental sepsis impairs humoral memory in mice

PLoS One. 2013 Nov 28;8(11):e81752. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081752. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Patients with sepsis are often immune suppressed, and experimental mouse models of sepsis also display this feature. However, acute sepsis in mice is also characterized by a generalized B cell activation and plasma cell differentiation, resulting in a marked increase in serum antibody concentration. Its effects on humoral memory are not clearly defined. We measured the effects of experimental sepsis on long-term immunological memory for a defined antigen: we induced colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP) 8 weeks after 2 rounds of immunization with ovalbumin. Four weeks later, the antigen-specific bone marrow plasma cell count had doubled in immunized non-septic animals, but remained unchanged in immunized septic animals. Sepsis also caused a decrease in antigen-specific serum antibody concentration. We conclude that sepsis weakens humoral memory by impeding the antigen-specific plasma cell pool's development, which is not complete 8 weeks after secondary immunization.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Bone Marrow Cells / immunology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Immunity, Humoral / immunology*
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology
  • Immunologic Memory*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Sepsis / blood
  • Sepsis / immunology*

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G

Grants and funding

The study was financed in part by the DFG (GRK840). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. No additional external funding received for this study.