title: Enhanced killing of Blastomyces dermatitidis by gamma interferon-activated murine peripheral blood polymorphonuclear neutrophils.
abstract: Normal peripheral blood polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PB-PMNs), challenged in vitro with yeast form Blastomyces dermatitidis, reduced inoculum colony-forming units of a virulent strain by 37.5 +/- 9.5%. Pre-incubation of PB-PMNs with 10-100,000 U/ml of purified recombinant murine gamma-interferon (IFN) for 1 h prior to challenge with fungi resulted in significant enhancement of PB-PMN fungicidal activity. No direct fungicidal activity by IFN alone was observed. Pretreatment of selected concentrations of IFN shown to have PMN-enhancing activity (100 or 1000 U/ml) with rabbit hyperimmune anti-IFN antiserum for 1 h before addition to PB-PMNs abrogated the enhancement of fungicidal activity. Isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells failed to kill B. dermatitidis, even when mononuclear cells were present at a concentration ten times greater than that normally used in killing assays, and failed to be activated by IFN. Treatment of unstimulated or IFN-activated PB-PMNs with complement and hybridoma-derived monoclonal antibody specific for PMNs eliminated PB-PMN fungicidal activity. Exogenously added lipopolysaccharide (0.0005-50,000 ng/ml) did not activate PB-PMNs, whether added alone or in conjunction with IFN. The PB-PMN activating capacity of IFN could be destroyed by heat treatment (100 degrees C, 15 min) or by acid treatment with HCl (pH 2). These results demonstrate that recombinant gamma-interferon can stimulate PB-PMNs to kill B. dermatitidis, that the PB-PMN activating moiety is IFN and that PB-PMNs are responsible for fungal killing in this assay system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, CA.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Stevens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001758:Blastomyces / Q000276:immunology*; D003165:Complement System Proteins; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D003165:Complement System Proteins