Differential Behavior of Non- Species in the Central Nervous System of Immunocompetent and Immunosuppressed Mice.

The genus includes commensal fungi that can cause local and systemic infections, frequently involving vital organs as the central nervous system (CNS). spp. occupy the fourth place among infections that affect the CNS. Although the incidence of is decreasing among patients under immunosuppressive therapies, the incidence of non- is increasing. In this context, the objective of this work was to evaluate the ability of non- species to spread to the CNS of immunocompetent and immunosuppressed mice. Adult female C57BL/6 mice were treated with prednisolone, intravenously infected with , and yeasts and then evaluated at the 3rd and 14th days after infection. All species disseminated to the brain from immunocompetent animals and induced local inflammation at the third day post-infection. The immunosuppression resulted in body weight loss, leukopenia and reduced IL-2 production by spleen cell cultures. Higher fungal loads were recovered from the CNS of immunosuppressed mice. Inflammatory infiltration associated to a Th1 subset profile was higher in brain samples from immunosuppressed mice compared with immunocompetent ones. Additionally, was able to transform into pseudohypha inside microglia infected cells and also to induce elevated nitric oxide production. Altogether, these results indicate that , and are able to disseminate to the CNS and promote local inflammation in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed mice. displayed a distinct behavior at the CNS triggering a local Th1 profile. The possible contribution of these non- species to other CNS pathologies as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases deserves further attention.