Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 45, Issue 12, Pages 3339-3350Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1002/eji.201545689
Keywords
CD4(+) T cells; Cryptococcus neoformans; Fungal immunity; Immune reconstitution; Inflammation
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Funding
- German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) [AL 371/7-1]
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Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has yielded major advances in fighting the HIV pandemic by restoring protective immunity. However, a significant proportion of HIV patients co-infected with the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans paradoxically develops a life-threatening immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) during antiretroviral therapy. Despite several clinical studies, the underlying pathomechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we present the first mouse model of cryptococcal IRIS that allows for a detailed analysis of disease development. Lymphocyte-deficient RAG-1(-/-) mice are infected with C. neoformans and 4 weeks later adoptively transferred with purified CD4(+) T cells. Reconstitution of CD4(+) T cells is sufficient to induce a severe inflammatory disease similar to clinical IRIS in C. neoformans-infected RAG-1(-/-) mice of different genetic backgrounds and immunological phenotypes (i.e. C57BL/6 and BALB/c). Multiorgan inflammation is accompanied by a systemic release of distinct proinflammatory cytokines, i.e. IFN-gamma, IL-6, and TNF-gamma. IRIS development is characterized by infection-dependent activation of donor CD4(+) T cells, which are the source of IFN-gamma. Interestingly, IFN-gamma-mediated effects are not required for disease induction. Taken together, this novel mouse model of cryptococcal IRIS provides a useful tool to verify potential mechanisms of pathogenesis, revealing targets for diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.
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