Detection of Cytokines and Collectins in Bronchoalveolar Fluid Samples of Patients Infected with <i>Histoplasma capsulatum</i> and <i>Pneumocystis jirovecii</i>

Abstract

Histoplasmosis and pneumocystosis co-infections have been reported mainly in immunocompromised humans and in wild animals. The immunological response to each fungal infection has been described primarily using animal models; however, the host response to concomitant infection is unknown. The present work aimed to evaluate the pulmonary immunological response of patients with pneumonia caused either by Histoplasma capsulatum, Pneumocystis jirovecii, or their co-infection. We analyzed the pulmonary collectin and cytokine patterns of 131 bronchoalveolar lavage samples, which included HIV and non-HIV patients infected with H. capsulatum, P. jirovecii, or both fungi, as well as healthy volunteers and HIV patients without the studied fungal infections. Our results showed an increased production of the surfactant protein-A (SP-A) in non-HIV patients with H. capsulatum infection, contrasting with HIV patients (p P. jirovecii over H. capsulatum response.

Keywords

• <i>H. capsulatum</i>
• <i>P. jirovecii</i>
• bronchoalveolar lavage
• SP-A and SP-D
• cytokines