Abstract
Press release: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-11-pitt-clues-body-defense-common.html
Candida albicans is a dimorphic commensal fungus that causes severe oral infections in immunodeficient patients. Invasion of C. albicans hyphae into oral epithelium is an essential virulence trait. Interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling is required for both innate and adaptive immunity to C. albicans During the innate response, IL-17 is produced by γδ T cells and a poorly understood population of innate-acting CD4(+) αβ T cell receptor (TCRαβ)(+) cells, but only the TCRαβ(+) cells expand during acute infection. Confirming the innate nature of these cells, the TCR was not detectably activated during the primary response, as evidenced by Nur77(eGFP) mice that report antigen-specific signaling through the TCR. Rather, the expansion of innate TCRαβ(+) cells was driven by both intrinsic and extrinsic IL-1R signaling. Unexpectedly, there was no requirement for CCR6/CCL20-dependent recruitment or prototypical fungal pattern recognition receptors. However, C. albicans mutants that cannot switch from yeast to hyphae showed impaired TCRαβ(+) cell proliferation and Il17a expression. This prompted us to assess the role of candidalysin, a hyphal-associated peptide that damages oral epithelial cells and triggers production of inflammatory cytokines including IL-1. Candidalysin-deficient strains failed to up-regulate Il17a or drive the proliferation of innate TCRαβ(+) cells. Moreover, candidalysin signaled synergistically with IL-17, which further augmented the expression of IL-1α/β and other cytokines. Thus, IL-17 and C. albicans, via secreted candidalysin, amplify inflammation in a self-reinforcing feed-forward loop. These findings challenge the paradigm that hyphal formation per se is required for the oral innate response and demonstrate that establishment of IL-1- and IL-17-dependent innate immunity is induced by tissue-damaging hyphae.
Involved units
Leibniz-HKI-Authors
Awards
Cover page picture; Comments in Science Immunology (doi:10.1126/sciimmunol.aao5703); recommended by F1000 Prime: as exceptional
Identifier
doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aam8834
PMID: 29101209