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. 1991 Feb;59(2):486–493. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.2.486-493.1991

A monoclonal antibody to gamma interferon blocks augmentation of natural killer cell activity induced during systemic cryptococcosis.

C A Salkowski 1, E Balish 1
PMCID: PMC257776  PMID: 1898905

Abstract

These studies demonstrate that the cytotoxic activity of splenic natural killer (NK) cells is augmented in both nu/nu and nu/+ mice during systemic cryptococcosis. Both the kinetics and the regulation of NK cell activity differed in Cryptococcus neoformans-infected nu/nu and nu/+ mice. Greater augmentation was observed following challenge with 10(5) cells than with smaller inocula, and augmented NK cell activity was not always associated with enhanced control of systemic cryptococcosis. Infection with a nonencapsulated strain of C. neoformans induced an early but transient increase in splenic NK cell activity in nu/nu and nu/+ mice. Injection of capsular polysaccharide induced a transient augmentation of splenic NK cell activity in nu/+ mice but caused a persistent increase in splenic NK cell activity in nu/nu mice. In vivo treatment with monoclonal antibody to gamma interferon abrogated the augmentation of splenic NK cell activity induced during cryptococcal infections in both nu/nu and nu/+ mice and enhanced the susceptibility of nu/+ mice to C. neoformans to a greater extent than it did that of nu/nu mice. These results suggest that gamma interferon is an important mediator of resistance to C. neoformans.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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