Immune Responses to the Protein, Carbohydrate and Lipid Antigens of Nocardia Asteroides in Experimental Nocardiosis in Mice

Nocardia farcinica Activates Human Dendritic Cells and Induces Secretion of Interleukin-23 (IL-23) Rather than IL-12p70

“…The nocardial cell wall contains proteins, lipids, glycolipids, lipoproteins, glycolipoproteins, and peptidoglycan, which is characteristic of the family Mycobacteriaceae, and these structures could be involved in DC activation, which was readily induced by inactivated N. farcinica. Early studies have indicated that proteins, but not lipid antigens or carbohydrates, are the immunodominant structures of nocardias capable of inducing protective immunity in a murine model of N. asteroides infection (24)(25)(26). Interestingly, Trevino-Villarreal et al (52) reported recently that delipidated N. brasiliensis induced more expression of MHC-II, CD40, and CD80 in murine bone marrow-derived DCs.…”