Increased Susceptibility of TNF-α Lymphotoxin-α Double Knockout Mice to Systemic Candidiasis Through Impaired Recruitment of Neutrophils and Phagocytosis of Candida albicans

Abstract TNF-α and lymphotoxin-α (LT) are members of the TNF family, and these cytokines play crucial roles in the defense against infection with Candida albicans. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of endogenous TNF and LT during disseminated candidiasis in TNF−/−LT−/− knockout mice. The TNF- and LT-deficient animals had a significantly increased mortality following C. albicans infection compared with control mice, and this was due to a 10- to 1000-fold increased outgrowth of the yeast in their organs. No differences between TNF−/−LT−/− mice and TNF+/+LT+/+ were observed when mice were rendered neutropenic, suggesting that activation of neutrophils mediates the beneficial effects of endogenous TNF and LT. Histopathology of the organs, combined with neutrophil recruitment experiments, showed a dramatic delay in the neutrophil recruitment at the sites of Candida infection in the TNF−/−LT−/− mice. Moreover, the neutrophils of deficient animals were less potent to phagocytize Candida blastospores than control neutrophils. In contrast, the killing of Candida and the oxygen radical production did not differ between neutrophils of TNF−/−LT−/− and TNF+/+LT+/+ mice. Peak circulating IL-6 was significantly higher in TNF−/−LT−/− mice during infection. Peritoneal macrophages of TNF−/−LT−/− mice did not produce TNF, and synthesized significantly lower amounts of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and macrophage-inflammatory protein-1α than macrophages of TNF+/+LT+/+ animals did. In conclusion, endogenous TNF and/or LT contribute to host resistance to disseminated candidiasis, and their absence in TNF−/−LT−/− mice renders the animals susceptible through impaired recruitment of neutrophils and impaired phagocytosis of C. albicans.