Background : Despite recent advances in antifungal chemotherapy, invasive aspergillosis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a cytokine that is known to enhance antifungal activities of monocytes against Candida albicans.
Objective : The purpose of this study is to investigate the potentials of IL-15 to enhance antifungal activities of monocytes against Aspergillus fumigatus.
Methods : Peripheral blood monocytes from healthy adults were incubated with 0, 1, 10, 100ng/ml of IL-15 for 1, 2, and 4 days. Then, the ability of IL-15 to elicit the production of superoxide anion, the damage of hyphae by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetra -zolium bromide assay , and the killing ability of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia was investigated.
Results : Incubation of peripheral blood monocytes with 100ng/ml of IL-15 enhanced hyphal damage after 2 days(p<0.05), conidicidal activity from the first day(p<0.05), and increased the production of superoxide anion(O2-) in response to phorbol myristate acetate.
Conclusion : Our results indicate that IL-15 augments the microbicidal activity of human monocytes against Aspergillus fumigatus.