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TLR2 Is a Negative Regulator of Th17 Cells and Tissue Pathology in a Pulmonary Model of Fungal Infection¹

Departamento de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

To study the role of TLR2 in a experimental model of chronic pulmonary infection, TLR2-deficient and wild-type mice were intratracheally infected with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, a primary fungal pathogen. Compared with control, TLR2^–/– mice developed a less severe pulmonary infection and decreased NO synthesis. Equivalent results were detected with in vitro-infected macrophages. Unexpectedly, despite the differences in fungal loads both mouse strains showed equivalent survival times and severe pulmonary inflammatory reactions. Studies on lung-infiltrating leukocytes of TLR2^–/– mice demonstrated an increased presence of polymorphonuclear neutrophils that control fungal loads but were associated with diminished numbers of activated CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. TLR2 deficiency leads to minor differences in the levels of pulmonary type 1 and type 2 cytokines, but results in increased production of KC, a CXC chemokine involved in neutrophils chemotaxis, as well as TGF-β, IL-6, IL-23, and IL-17 skewing T cell immunity to a Th17 pattern. In addition, the preferential Th17 immunity of TLR2^–/– mice was associated with impaired expansion of regulatory CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ T cells. This is the first study to show that TLR2 activation controls innate and adaptive immunity to P. brasiliensis infection. TLR2 deficiency results in increased Th17 immunity associated with diminished expansion of regulatory T cells and increased lung pathology due to unrestrained inflammatory reactions.

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Vera L. G. Calich, Departamento de Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas da Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes 1730, CEP 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail address: vlcalich{at}icb.usp.br

¹ This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa and Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas.