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Macrophage Cholesterol Depletion and Its Effect on the Phagocytosis of Cryptococcus neoformans
Published on: December 19, 2014
Functional defect of natural immune system in an apparent immunocompetent patient with pulmonary cryptococcosis
Massimo Marroni1, Eva Pericolini, Elio Cenci
1Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Abstract:
We report a case of pulmonary cryptococcosis in a 21-year-old Italian female smoker with no apparent immune disorder. In this study we demonstrated that: (i) patient's neutrophils and monocytes manifested a significant reduction of killing activity against Cryptococcus neoformans as well as Candida albicans; (ii) the suppression was more pronounced in monocytes than in neutrophils; (iii) neutrophils and monocytes showed a significant impairment of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and nitric oxide production. These results suggest that the apparent immunocompetent host with pulmonary cryptococcosis could have specific defects in natural immune system mechanisms.
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