Antibiotic treatment induces an increase of the specific antibody levels in Brucella melitensis infected mice

Abstract The effects of doxycycline (DOX) and streptomycin (SM) treatment of Brucella melitensis infected mice on humoral immune response were examined. In female BALB/c mice, DOX was administered at a dose of 50 mg/kg/12 h, for 21 or 45 consecutive days, alone or combined with SM (10 mg/kg/12 h) for 14 days. All treatments induced a significant increase in specific IgG levels (ELISA and CIEP) against LPS and cytosolic antigens of Brucella during treatment. This was not related with therapeutic failure or relapse since all treatments induced a significant reduction in the degree of infection.