Abstract
Patients with cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe asthma, pre-existing pulmonary lesions, and severely immunocompromised patients are susceptible to develop infections with the opportunistic pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, called aspergillosis. Infections in these patients are associated with persistent pro-inflammatory T-helper (T(H))2 and T(H)17 responses. Regulatory T-cells, natural suppressor cells of the immune system, control pro-inflammatory T-cell responses, but can also contribute to disease by shifting to a pro-inflammatory T(H)17-like phenotype. Such a shift could play an important role in the detrimental immunopathology that is seen in aspergillosis. Our study demonstrates that Aspergillus fumigatus induces regulatory T-cells with a T(H)17-like phenotype. We also demonstrate that these regulatory T-cells with a pro-inflammatory T(H)17-like phenotype can be reprogrammed to their "classical" anti-inflammatory phenotype by activating Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), which regulates the induction of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4). Similarly, soluble CTLA4 could reverse the pro-inflammatory phenotype of Aspergillus-induced regulatory T-cells. In conclusion, our results suggest a role for regulatory T-cells with a pro-inflammatory T(H)17-like phenotype in Aspergillus-associated immunopathology, and identifies key players, i.e. TLR2 and CTLA4, involved in this mechanism.