Cell-free antigens from Paracoccidioides brasiliensis drive IL-4 production and increase the severity of paracoccidioidomycosis.

ABSTRACT: The thermally dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb) is the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), one of the most frequent systemic mycosis that affects the rural population in Latin America. PCM is characterized by a chronic inflammatory granulomatous reaction, which is consequence of a Th1-mediated adaptive immune response. In the present study we investigated the mechanisms involved in the immunoregulation triggered after a prior contact with cell-free antigens (CFA) during a murine model of PCM. The results showed that the inoculation of CFA prior to the infection resulted in disorganized granulomatous lesions and increased fungal replication in the lungs, liver and spleen, that paralleled with the higher levels of IL-4 when compared with the control group. The

SUBMITTER: Cavassani KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3120880 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature