Analysis of the migratory capacity of dendritic cells in chromoblastomycosis experimental

Abstract

The chromoblastomycosis is a subcutaneous mycosis, with high morbidity and refractory to many different treatments, the fungus Fonsecaea pedrosoi considered the biggest agent of this mycosis, characterizing a chronic, suppurative granulomatous generally confined to the skin and subcutaneous tissue, distributed worldwide. So far there are few papers that include the host-parasite relationship in this mycosis. Some studies have focused on fungus-host interaction and the findings point to a predominantly cellular immune response, with activation of macrophages involved in phagocytosis of the fungus. Dendritic cells are specialized cells in antigen presentation to naive T lymphocytes and induce primary immune responses. It is known that in several models of infectious diseases dendritic cells have been studied for its ability to serve as a vaccine adjuvant and mediating protection against bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungal pathogens (MOLL; BERBERICH, 2001). Whereas the events in this fungal pathogen are still not entirely clear, we assess the phenotype of dendritic cells, as well as assess the potential migration of these cells to lymphoid organs in order to examine the maturation and expression of co-stimulatory molecules and MHC-II in these cells.