摘要
The key purpose of the immune system is to protect the host from infectious diseases.However,it has long been known that the induced host response in many cases represents a double-edged sword,and proper regulation of the magnitude and the temporal and spatial context of this response is critical to avoid immunemediated bystander tissue damage.A classical model of such damage is intracerebral infection of immunocompetent mice with the noncytolytic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.Although T-cell-deficient mice suffer little or no disease following infection by any route,immunocompetent mice succumb to Tcell-mediated lethal meningitis.1,2 Peripheral infection of such immunocompetent mice is associated with limited disease,and the same type of effector T cells that cause lethal disease are also central in controlling viral infection in organs.
