Tuberculosis ranks as one of the world's deadliest
infectious diseases causing more than a million casualties annually.
IL10 inhibits the function of Th1 type cells, and
IL10 deficiency has been associated with an improved resistance against
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a mouse model. Here, we utilized M. marinum
infection in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for studying
Il10 in the host response against mycobacteria. Unchallenged, nonsense il10e46/e46 mutant zebrafish were fertile and phenotypically normal. Following a chronic mycobacterial
infection, il10e46/e46 mutants showed enhanced survival compared to the controls. This was associated with an increased expression of the Th cell marker cd4-1 and a shift towards a Th1 type immune response, which was demonstrated by the upregulated expression of tbx21 and ifng1, as well as the down-regulation of gata3. In addition, at 8 weeks post
infection il10e46/e46 mutant zebrafish had reduced expression levels of proinflammatory
cytokines tnfb and il1b, presumably indicating slower progress of the
infection. Altogether, our data show that
Il10 can weaken the immune defense against M. marinum
infection in zebrafish by restricting ifng1 response. Importantly, our findings support the relevance of M. marinum
infection in zebrafish as a model for
tuberculosis.