Epidermal host defense (antimicrobial) peptide gene expression in experimental dermatomycosis.

VERÓNICA L BURSTEIN, IGNACIO BECCACECE, LORENA GUASCONI; MARIEL ALMEIDA, CRISTIAN MENA, LAURA CERVI1,; MARÍA C PISTORESI-PALENCIA, LAURA CHIAPELLO

Congreso; Sociedad Argentina de Inmunologia; 2021

Host defense antimicrobial peptides (HDP) are small proteins that directly kill or inhibit pathogen growth, modulate inflammation and skin homeostasis. Previously, we demonstrated that type-17 response is crucial to inhibit fungal proliferation after dermatophyte infection of C57BL/6 mice and, in the absence of a functional IL-17 pathway in IL-17RAKO mice, fungal burden was significantly increased compare to WT mice. However, the IL-17-mediated effector mechanisms that inhibit dermatophyte growth and the role of HDP remain undefined.The aim of this work was to evaluate the gene expression of the HDP β-defensins 2, 3 and 14 and calprotectin (S100A9) in the epidermis of C57BL/6 and IL-17RAKO mice at early time-points of Nannizzia gypsea infection.C57BL/6 (WT) and IL-17RAKO male mice were epicutaneously infected with a N. gypsea mycelia suspension (infected group) or treated with sterile saline solution (uninfected controls). On day 1 or 3 post-infection (dpi), skin was trypsinized, mRNA was extracted, cDNA was generated and used for quantitative PCR with primers for mBD2, mBD3, mBD14, S100A9, GAPDH and β-actin.Dermatophyte-infected WT mice (1 dpi) expressed lower levels of mBD2 compared to uninfected controls (p