Thus, MMP-8 has novel roles in restraining lung inflammation and in limiting alveolar capillary barrier injury during ALI in mice by inactivating MIP-1alpha.
Genetically altered mice with a selective deletion of the MIP-1alpha gene (-/- mice) demonstrated a significant reduction in lung inflammation following RSV infection, compared to control littermates (+/+ mice).
The mip gene of Legionella pneumophila was demonstrated by PCR and probing in paired acute-phase and convalescent-phase sera from five patients with Legionnaires' disease but not in the acute-phase sera of 100 patients with pneumonia that showed no serological evidence of Legionella infection.
The mip gene of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 strain AA100 encodes a 24-kilodalton surface protein (Mip) and enhances the abilities of L. pneumophila to parasitize human macrophages and to cause pneumonia in experimental animals.