| First Author | Bär E | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | Immunity | Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 117-27 |
| PubMed ID | 24412614 | Mgi Jnum | J:209393 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5567052 | Doi | 10.1016/j.immuni.2013.12.002 |
| Citation | Bar E, et al. (2014) IL-17 regulates systemic fungal immunity by controlling the functional competence of NK cells. Immunity 40(1):117-27 |
| abstractText | Interleukin 17 (IL-17)-mediated immunity plays a key role in protection from fungal infections in mice and man. Here, we confirmed that mice deficient in the IL-17 receptor or lacking the ability to secrete IL-17 are highly susceptible to systemic candidiasis, but we found that temporary blockade of the IL-17 pathway during infection in wild-type mice did not impact fungal control. Rather, mice lacking IL-17 receptor signaling had a cell-intrinsic impairment in the development of functional NK cells, which accounted for the susceptibility of these mice to systemic fungal infection. NK cells promoted antifungal immunity by secreting GM-CSF, necessary for the fungicidal activity of neutrophils. These data reveal that NK cells are crucial for antifungal defense and indicate a role for IL-17 family cytokines in NK cell development. The IL-17-NK cell axis may impact immunity against not only fungi but also bacteria, viruses, and tumors. |
