Good news!
"In a study just published ... in the prestigious journal Nature Immunology, a research team ... uncovered a previously unknown defense mechanism employed by the immune system in fighting Candida infections. ...
In the new study .... discovered that a powerful commando unit of TH17 cells capable of fighting Candida cannot be generated without crucial early support from an entirely different contingent – a subset of rare lymphoid cells known as type-3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) that express a gene called the autoimmune regulator (Aire). ...
THE SCIENTISTS found that as soon as Candida starts infecting tissues, the Aire-ILC3s surround the yeast, chop them up and display some of the pieces on their surfaces. That’s how these bits are presented to the TH17s, a few of which are generally on call in the lymph nodes, ready for an infection alert. This instructs the specialized T cells to start dividing rapidly, soaring in number from a few lone commandos to several hundred or even thousands of Candida-specific fighters, capable of destroying the yeast at the sites of infection.
“We have identified a previously unrecognized immune system weapon that is indispensable for orchestrating an effective response against the fungal infection,” ... “We found an entirely new role for Aire, one that it plays in the lymph nodes – turning on a mechanism that increases the numbers of Candida-fighting T cells,” ..."
From the abstract:
"Patients with loss of function in the gene encoding the master regulator of central tolerance AIRE suffer from a devastating disorder called autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1), characterized by a spectrum of autoimmune diseases and severe mucocutaneous candidiasis. Although the key mechanisms underlying the development of autoimmunity in patients with APS-1 are well established, the underlying cause of the increased susceptibility to Candida albicans infection remains less understood. Here, we show that Aire+MHCII+ type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) could sense, internalize and present C. albicans and had a critical role in the induction of Candida-specific T helper 17 (TH17) cell clones. Extrathymic Rorc-Cre-mediated deletion of Aire resulted in impaired generation of Candida-specific TH17 cells and subsequent overgrowth of C. albicans in the mucosal tissues. Collectively, our observations identify a previously unrecognized regulatory mechanism for effective defense responses against fungal infections."
Curbing Candida: The Cells That Keep Fungal Infections at Bay Without cells that spur on the specialized antifungal units, the fight against a common infection is a lost cause
Extrathymic expression of Aire controls the induction of effective TH17 cell-mediated immune response to Candida albicans (no public access)
An Aire-ILC3 cell (gray) captures and swallows a Candida cell (red)
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