Intraspecies variation in the efficacy of adjunctive recombinant interferon-γ therapy against cryptococcal meningoencephalitis in mice.

The efficacy of recombinant interferon gamma (rIFN-gamma) for cryptococcal meningoencephalitis has been poorly understood. Compared to Cryptococcus gattii, rIFN-gamma significantly improved the survival in experimental meningoencephalitis due to Cryptococcus neoformans. The number of phagocytic macrophages and the levels of inflammatory cytokines production for ex vivo co-incubation with C. neoformans were increased after rIFN-gamma stimulation but not C. gattii. Intraspecies differences of phagocytosis by the rIFN-gamma-activated macrophages might be associated to the severity of cryptococcal infection.