http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/104519938/ABSTRACT European Journal of Immunology Volume 33, Issue 5 , Pages 1193 - 1204 Published Online: 7 Apr 2003 © 2002 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Article A role for antibodies in the generation of memory antifungal immunity Claudia Montagnoli 1, Silvia Bozza 1, Angela Bacci 1, Roberta Gaziano 1, Paolo Mosci 1, Joachim Morschhäuser 2, Lucia Pitzurra 1, Manfred Kopf 3, Jim Cutler 4, Luigina Romani 1 * 1Microbiology Section, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy 2Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany 3Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zürich-Schlieren, Switzerland 4Research Institute for Children, Children's Hospital, New Orleans, USA email: Luigina Romani (lromani@unipg.it) *Correspondence to Luigina Romani, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, Microbiology Section, University of Perugia, Via del Giochetto, I-06122 Perugia, Italy Fax: +39-075-585-7411 Keywords B cell • Antibody • Th subset • Regulatory T cell • Fungus Abstract Protective immunity to Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus is mediated by antigen-specific Th1 cells. To define the role of B cells and antibodies in the generation ofantifungal immune resistance, B cell-deficient (MT) mice were assessed for immune resistance to primary and secondary infections with both fungi. The results showed that, although passive administration of antibodies increased the fungal clearance, the innate and Th1-mediated resistance to the primary and secondary infections were both heightened in MT mice with candidiasis and aspergillosis. However, although capable of efficiently restricting the fungal growth, MT mice did not survive the re-infection with C. albicans, and this was concurrent with the failure to generate IL-10-producing dendritic cells and regulatory CD4+CD25+ T cells. Antifungal opsonizing antibodies restored IL-10 production by dendritic cells from MT mice, a finding suggesting that the availability of opsonizing antibodies may condition the nature of the dendritic cell interaction with fungi, possibly impacting on the development of long-lasting antifungal immunity.