title: Characterization of monocyte-derived dendritic cells from patients with active and treated paracoccidioidomycosis.
abstract: Cellular immune responses are a significant defence mechanism in human paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), an endemic mycosis in Latin America; however, little is known about the role of dendritic cells (DCs) in human PCM. We investigated monocyte-derived DCs from patients with treated (TP) and active PCM (AP) compared with healthy non-PCM donors (CO). DCs from the TP group showed higher expression of HLA-DR, CD86 and DC-SIGN compared with CO, whereas AP showed similar expression to CO. Production of IL-10 was downregulated by TNF-α in all groups and lower levels were observed in untreated DCs from AP compared with CO. Conversely, IL-12p40 was significantly upregulated in the DCs of the TP group. TNF-α-activated DCs from the CO group produced significantly lower levels of IL-12p40 when differentiated from magnetic-sorted monocytes (MACS) compared with adhered monocyte-derived DCs. This comparison in the TP group revealed similar levels of IL-12p40, suggesting a T cell-independent increase in the production of IL-12p40. Higher expression of surface molecules with increased IL-12p40 may indicate a better activation of DCs after the treatment of PCM. Our findings suggest that DCs may be crucial in the protective response to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and that in vitro-generated DCs might be useful in enhancing antifungal immunity, especially during active PCM.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Medical Investigation-Immunology (LIM-48), Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, University of São Paulo (HCFMUSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil. paulaks@usp.br
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Oshiro
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Diogo
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Passos
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Shikanai-Yasuda
mesh_terms: D051940:B7-2 Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D039521:CD11c Antigen / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D010229:Paracoccidioidomycosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D051940:B7-2 Antigen; D039521:CD11c Antigen; C497964:CD86 protein, human