Department of Dermatology, Wuhan No.1 Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
Department of Urology, Wuhan No.1 Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2021 Jun;54(3):457-465. doi: 10.1016/j.jmii.2020.02.007. Epub 2020 Feb 21.
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Penicillium marneffei (P. marneffei) infection, which has been traditionally considered as an indicator of immunosuppression, is one of the most common systemic opportunistic infections in patients with AIDS. Recently, more and more P. marneffei infections have been documented in HIV-negative patients without underlying diseases, which challenges the traditional view that P. marneffei infection is an indicator of immunosuppression. We aimed to evaluate the number and function of lymphocytes in HIV-negative patients with P. marneffei infection.
15 HIV-negative P. marneffei-infected patients and 18 healthy controls were recruited and investigated. The number and function of lymphocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry.
Most laboratory tests were within the reference ranges, except for a significant increase in total IgE in P. marneffei-infected patients. Lymphocyte subset analysis showed that the number of CD4 T cells and NK cells was significantly decreased in HIV-negative marneffei-infected patients compared with healthy controls. However, almost half of the marneffei-infected patients still had normal levels of lymphocytes. A further analysis of cell function showed that the activation and proliferation of CD4 T cells, the cytotoxicity of CD8 T cells and NK cells, and the cytokine secretion potential of CD4 T cells and NK cells were all impaired, in comparison with healthy controls.
P. marneffei infection has to be regarded as an indicator of immunosuppression. A further investigation of cell function is required in patients with opportunistic infection, as the cell function may be impaired in this condition.
背景/目的：马尔尼菲青霉（P. marneffei）感染传统上被认为是免疫抑制的指标之一，是艾滋病患者中最常见的系统性机会性感染之一。最近，越来越多的 HIV 阴性且无基础疾病的患者被证实患有马尔尼菲青霉感染，这对马尔尼菲青霉感染是免疫抑制的指标这一传统观点提出了挑战。我们旨在评估 HIV 阴性马尔尼菲青霉感染患者的淋巴细胞数量和功能。
招募了 15 名 HIV 阴性马尔尼菲青霉感染患者和 18 名健康对照者进行研究。通过流式细胞术分析淋巴细胞的数量和功能。
除了马尔尼菲青霉感染患者的总 IgE 显著升高外，大多数实验室检查均在参考范围内。淋巴细胞亚群分析显示，与健康对照组相比，HIV 阴性马尔尼菲青霉感染患者的 CD4 T 细胞和 NK 细胞数量显著减少。然而，仍有近一半的马尔尼菲青霉感染患者的淋巴细胞水平正常。进一步的细胞功能分析显示，与健康对照组相比，CD4 T 细胞的活化和增殖、CD8 T 细胞和 NK 细胞的细胞毒性以及 CD4 T 细胞和 NK 细胞的细胞因子分泌潜能均受损。
马尔尼菲青霉感染必须被视为免疫抑制的指标。在机会性感染患者中需要进一步研究细胞功能，因为在这种情况下细胞功能可能受损。
