Wiley, Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, 3(58), p. 290-297, 2003
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-3083.2003.01291.x
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Paracoccidioidomycosis, endemic in Latin America, is a progressive systemic mycosis caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The infection can evolve into different clinical forms that are associated with various degrees of suppressed cell-mediated immunity. Assuming that the effector immune response is a consequence of the preferential activation of either Th1 or Th2 subsets, in the present work we evaluated whether the nature of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) can influence the Th1/Th2 balance in vivo. It was observed that the injection of mature dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages and B cells primed the mice and induced a proliferation of T cells in vitro. It was seen that DCs from resistant mice stimulated predominantly interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), whereas macrophages activated IL-10, IL-4 and IFN-gamma-secreting T cells and B cells IL-4 and IL-10 only. Results presented here clearly demonstrate that DC drives the development of cells secreting Th1-derived cytokines, whereas B cells induce the differentiation of a Th2 phenotype in vivo.