PLoS patching: inflammatory monocytes play the opposite role in fungal infection

April 28, 2019 / bioin / - an immune cell called inflammatory monocyte makes the cells that react first after an infection, but according to a recent paper published in PLoS patterns, these cells actually promote Cryptococcus Neofonmans) infection in mice The study was completed by Lena Heung and Tobias Hohl of the memorial Sloan Kettering cancer center The authors believe that these different results show that inflammatory monocytes have the functional plasticity to regulate infection results, which will make them an important target of immunomodulation in the treatment of Cryptococcus neoformans Photo source: Cryptococcus neoformans (Cryptococcus neoformans) is a yeast widely found in the environment When Cryptococcus neoformans are inhaled into the lungs of patients with impaired immune system, it can cause fatal infection of the central nervous system But we have limited knowledge of immune responses that can help clear the lungs of Cryptococcus neoformans or promote disease development In this new study, Heung and Hohl used a lethal mouse model of Cryptococcus neoformans infection, and they found that inflammatory monocytes promoted the progress of infection without clearing the pathogen In the absence of monocytes, the survival rate of mice increased and the burden of fungi on the lungs and other parts decreased These results reveal a new and key role of inflammatory monocytes in mediating the lethal respiratory infection model of Cryptococcus neoformans These findings are in sharp contrast to the beneficial function of inflammatory monocytes found in other fungal infected mouse models The results lay a foundation for the future work on the immune response of inflammatory monocytes, and targeting these cells will become an effective strategy to improve the prognosis of patients with new Cryptococcus neoformans infection Reference: Heung LJ, Hohl TM (2019) infrared monocytes are critical to the host immune response during acute infection with Cryptococcus neoformans PLoS pathag 15 (3): e1007627 Doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007627