title: Effect of cytokines on antifungal activity of human polymorphonuclear leucocytes against yeast cells of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.
abstract: In our previous study, it was observed that human peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) exhibited a fungistatic effect on yeast cells of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, and that interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), but not tumor necrosis factor-alpha or interleukin-8 (IL-8), enhanced the antifungal activity of PMNs. In the present study, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) also enhanced the PMN activity. GM-CSF-activated PMNs exhibited a killing effect on P. brasiliensis isolate Bt-4 and an enhanced fungistatic effect on isolate Aoki. IL-1beta activated PMNs to kill isolate Bt-4. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor had no effect. Combinations of IFN-gamma with GM-CSF or IL-1beta, but not a combination of GM-CSF and IL-1beta, exhibited a synergistic effect in enhancing the antifungal activity of PMNs. These results strongly suggest that PMNs activated with IFN-gamma, GM-CSF and/or IL-1beta might play an important role in host defense in early infection with P. brasiliensis due to their enhanced antifungal activity.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Pathogenic Fungi and Microbial Toxicoses, Chiba University, Chiba-shi, Japan. nobu@myco.pf.chiba-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kurita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oarada
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyaji
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D016207:Cytokines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004357:Drug Synergism; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000494:pharmacology; D018375:Neutrophil Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D010228:Paracoccidioides / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007375:Interleukin-1; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor