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Infection and Immunity, September 2000, p. 5126-5131, Vol. 68, No. 9
Microbiology Section, Department of
Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University of
Perugia, 06122 Perugia, Italy,1 and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of
Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 065102
Received 22 February 2000/Returned for modification 1 May
2000/Accepted 20 June 2000
Caspase 1, formerly designated interleukin 1
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Interleukin 18 Restores Defective Th1 Immunity
to Candida albicans in Caspase 1-Deficient
Mice
(IL-1
)-converting enzyme, processes pro-IL-1
and pro-IL-18 to
yield active cytokines that play a pivotal role in inflammation and
cell activation. We show here the effect of caspase 1 deficiency on the
inflammatory and adaptive immune responses to the fungus Candida
albicans. Caspase 1 deficiency did not affect susceptibility to
primary systemic infection with the fungus, as revealed by survival and fungal growth. However, Th1-mediated resistance to reinfection was
greatly impaired in caspase 1-deficient mice, and this correlated with
low-level production of IL-12 and gamma interferon. Early in infection,
production of these cytokines and that of tumor necrosis factor alpha,
IL-6, and, interestingly, IL-1
occurred normally in caspase
1-deficient mice, while that of IL-18 was severely impaired. Exogenous
administration of IL-18, more than IL-12, restored the Th1-mediated
resistance to the infection. We conclude that, while caspase 1 is not
indispensable for release of mature IL-1
in candidiasis, the caspase
1-dependent production of IL-18 may represent an important and novel
pathway for the expression of sustained Th1 reactivity to the fungus.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbiology
Section, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, 06122 Perugia, Italy. Phone
and fax: 39-075-5857411. E-mail: lromani{at}unipg.it.
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