Variables affecting production of monocyte chemotactic factor 1 from human leukocytes stimulated with Cryptococcus...

The chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) is produced predominantly by mononuclear phagocytes and stimulates recruitment into infected tissues of blood monocytes and T cells. These cell types are thought to be critical to host defenses against infections due to Cryptococcus neoformans, a major cause of disease in persons with AIDS and other disorders of cell-mediated immunity. Accordingly, in the present study, we examined the conditions under which human monocytes and bronchoalveolar macrophages (BAM) are stimulated by C. neoformans to produce MCP-1. C. neoformans was a potent inducer of MCP-1 release from monocytes, with levels of chemokine secreted similar to that seen following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). BAM, in contrast, were stimulated by LPS, but not by C. neoformans, to secrete MCP-1. A peak in MCP-1 mRNA was seen 8 h following cryptococcal stimulation of monocytes. Nine strains of C. neoformans stimulated monocytes to release MCP-1, and there was only modest variation between strains. However, when an individual strain was used, the capacity of C. neoformans to stimulate monocyte MCP-1 release did vary, depending upon the conditions used to grow the fungal stimuli. Finally, C. neoformans stimulated comparable quantities of MCP-1 release in monocytes from donors with and without human immunodeficiency virus infection. These data establish C. neoformans as a potent stimulator of MCP-1 in monocytes, but not in BAM. The failure of C. neoformans to stimulate MCP-1 in BAM, if occurring in vivo, could result in a diminished cell-mediated inflammatory response following inhalation of airborne fungi.