Papel de los monocitos frente a infección sistémica por Candida albicans

Abstract

Neutrophils play a crucial role in defense against systemic candidiasis, a disease associated with a high mortality rate in patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy, although the early immune mechanisms that boost the candidacidal activity of neutrophils remain to be defined in-depth. In this work, we have explored the role of inflammatory Ly6Chi monocytes in natural killer cell-mediated neutrophil activation during the innate immune response against C. albicans, using a murine model of systemic candidiasis. Our data support that efficient anti- Candida immunity required a collaborative response between the spleen and kidney, relying on type I interferon-dependent IL-15 production by spleen inflammatory Ly6Chi monocytes, driving an efficient activation and GM-CSF release by spleen natural killer cells, that was needed to boost the Candida killing potential of kidney neutrophils. Our data thus unveil an unknown function of IL-15 as a critical mediator in defense against systemic candidiasis, and hold promise for the design of novel IL-15-based antifungal immunotherapies.