Mody C H, Spurrell J C, Wood C J
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
J Infect Dis. 1998 Sep;178(3):803-14. doi: 10.1086/515381.
A newly described cytokine, interleukin (IL)-15, shares many activities with IL-2; however, little is known about the stimuli for release of IL-15, and its role in antimicrobial host defense has not previously been demonstrated. This study found that Cryptococcus neoformans is a potent stimulus for the release of biologically active IL-15 from monocytes. Both IL-15 and IL-2 made significant contributions to lymphocyte proliferation and lymphocyte-mediated anticryptococcal activity to encapsulated and acapsular C. neoformans. IL-15 restored lymphocyte proliferation and anticryptococcal activity that had been abrogated by blocking IL-2. IL-15 also enhanced the anticryptococcal activity of lymphocytes but did not enhance the activity of monocytes. This suggests that IL-15 and IL-2 cooperate for lymphocyte activation and proliferation in vitro and demonstrates that IL-15 can induce antimicrobial activity. Taken together, these data suggest that microbes, and in particular C. neoformans, are an important stimulus for IL-15 and that IL-15 may have an important role in induction of antimicrobial effector mechanisms.
一种新发现的细胞因子——白细胞介素（IL）-15，与IL-2具有许多共同活性；然而，对于IL-15释放的刺激因素知之甚少，并且其在抗微生物宿主防御中的作用此前尚未得到证实。本研究发现，新型隐球菌是单核细胞释放生物活性IL-15的有效刺激物。IL-15和IL-2对淋巴细胞增殖以及淋巴细胞介导的针对包膜和无包膜新型隐球菌的抗隐球菌活性均有显著贡献。IL-15恢复了因阻断IL-2而被消除的淋巴细胞增殖和抗隐球菌活性。IL-15还增强了淋巴细胞的抗隐球菌活性，但未增强单核细胞的活性。这表明IL-15和IL-2在体外协同促进淋巴细胞的激活和增殖，并证明IL-15可诱导抗微生物活性。综上所述，这些数据表明微生物，尤其是新型隐球菌，是IL-15的重要刺激物，并且IL-15可能在诱导抗微生物效应机制中发挥重要作用。
