Effect of Invasive Aspergillosis Infection on the Immune Responses of Cancer Mice

Objective(s) Using a cancer murine model of invasive aspergillosis (IA), we investigated the expression of TLR-2, Dectin-1 and the level of cytokine production by CD4+ T helper cells in different groups of mice (with or without cancer), also, the effect of invasive aspergillosis on the immune response pattern of cancer mice. Materials and Methods Patterns of susceptibility and resistance to infection obtained with different groups of mice injected with Aspergillus fumigatus conidia. TLR-2 and Dectin-1 analyzed applying flowcytometry and cytokine production of cultured splenocytes by ELISA method. Results Cancer mice that challenged with A. fumigatus conidia showed significant increase in TLR-2 and Dectin-1 levels compared with the two other control groups (normal mice challenged with A. fumigatus and non-infected cancer mice). Moreover, it showed insignificant decrease in IFN-γ and IL-10 levels and insignificant increase in TNF-α level. The data demonstrated remarkable rise in IL-4 level and the mortality of cancer mice that intravenously infected with A. fumigatus. Conclusion Probably IA causes stimulation in innate immunity and Th2 cells, also some disorganization in cytokine production in CD4+ T helper cells. We hypothesize that concomitance of IA and cancer may change the microenvironment for local or systemic immune responses. Other complementary studies could help supporting our hypothesis.