T-HELPER CELL-TYPE-1 (TH1)-LIKE AND TH2-LIKE RESPONSES ARE PRESENT IN MICE WITH GASTRIC CANDIDIASIS BUT PROTECTIVE IMMUNITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH TH1 DEVELOPMENT

The relative contributions of local T helper cell type 1 (Th1)- and Th2-like responses to the course of primary and secondary gastrointestinal (GI) candidiasis were examined in adult immunocompetent BALB/c mice. Both Th1 cytokines, such as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and the Th2 cytokines, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5, were produced by CD4(+) cells from Peyer's patches (PP) and mesenteric lymph nodes at a time when the fungus was cleared from the stomach and intestine, Augmentation of antigen-specific Th2-like responses by treatment with cholera toxin did not modify the course of disease, In contrast, treatment with soluble IL-4 receptor, which increased Th1 cells, was associated with enhanced yeast clearance, In addition, IFN-gamma but not IL-4 mRNA was present in PP and spleen CD4(+) cells in mice resistant to subsequent GI inoculation. Activation of Th1- but not Th2-like responses may be responsible locally for controlling GI candidiasis and generating protective immunity.