Although data show the importance of type I interferons (IFNs) in the regulation of the innate and adaptive immunity elicited in response to viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, the functional activities of these cytokines during fungal infections are poorly understood. We examined here the impact of IFN-β on the response of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) infected in vitro with Aspergillus fumigatus. Having found that A. fumigatus-infected DCs do not express IFN-β, we evaluated the effect of the exogenous addition of IFN-β on the maturation of human DCs induced by the infection with A. fumigatus conidia. Although the phagocytosis of the fungus was not affected by IFN-β treatment, the expression of CD86 and CD83 induced upon A. fumigatus challenge was enhanced in IFN-β-conditioned DCs, which also showed an increased expression of IL-27 and IL-12p70, members of IL-12 family. Through these modifications, IFN-β improved the capacity of DCs to promote an anti-Aspergillus T helper type 1 response, as evaluated by mixed leucocyte reaction, which plays a crucial role in the control of invasive aspergillosis. Our results identified a novel effect of IFN-β on anti-Aspergillus immune responses which, in turn, might open new perspectives on the use of IFN-β in immunotherapy for fungal infections aimed at enhancing the immunological functions of DCs.
© 2010 The Authors. Immunology © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.