Defective production of interferon-γ and tumour necrosis factor-α by AIDS mononuclear cells afterin vitroexposure toRhodococcus equi

[摘要] The production of interferon-γ and tumour necrosis factor-α was evaluated in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors and AIDS patients afterRhodococcus equiinfectionin vitro. PBMCs from healthy donors secreted elevated levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α when challengedin vitrowith killedR. equi, whereas the release of both cytokines was impaired in supernatant cultures from AIDS patients. We conclude that the failure of IFN-γ generation in AIDS patients in response toR. equiis not antigen-specific but it may reflect the global impairment of T-cell function. In such patients, however, the infection withR. equi, a facultative intracellular pathogen which survives and replicates within macrophages, may be responsible for the impairment in the TNF-α release, possibly enhancing the HIV-induced macrophage dysftmction.

[学科分类] 生理学与病理学