IMBALANCE OF IL-2, IFN-γ AND IL-10 SECRETION IN THE IMMUNOSUPPRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN PARACOCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS

• DOI: 10.1006/cyto.2000.0824
• Publication Date: 2002-09-16T15:45:48Z
• Authors: Gil Benard; Carla C. Romano; Camila R. Cacere; Michelangelo Juve...; Maria José S. Men...; Alberto J.S. Duarte
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Antigens, Fungal; Adolescent; 610; Lymphocyte Activation; IFN-gamma; Interferon-gamma; 03 medical and health sciences; paracoccidioidomycosis; Immune Tolerance; Humans; Child; Cells, Cultured; 0303 health sciences; IL-2; Paracoccidioides; Middle Aged; Interleukin-10; 3. Good health; IL-10; Cytokines; Interleukin-2; Paracoccidioides brasiliensis; Paracoccidioidomycosis

Patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) display a certain degree of immunecompromise characterized by lymphocyte hyporesponsiveness to the main Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antigen (gp43). To determine whether cytokines are involved in this state, we evaluated the secretion of IL-2, IL-10 and IFN-gamma by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with the acute (AF) and chronic (CF) forms of PCM and from healthy, P. brasiliensis-sensitized subjects. gp43-stimulated PBMC from healthy subjects produced substantial amounts of IL-2, IFN-gamma and IL-10, whereas PBMC from AF and CF patients produced low levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma but substantial amounts of IL-10. Phytohaemagglutinin-induced cytokine secretion was comparable among AF and CF patients and healthy subjects, suggesting integrity of non-specific cellular immune mechanisms in PCM. gp43-pulsed adherent cells, but not non-adherent cells, were the main source of IL-10. Moreover, IL-2 and IFN-gamma secretion correlated inversely with the amount of specific antibodies produced by patients and healthy subjects. Our results suggest that the imbalance in cytokine production of patients with PCM plays a role in the gp43-hyporesponsiveness and the marked (non-protective) antibody production of these patients.