Abstract
Defense against bacterial infections requires activation of the immune response as well as timely reestablishment of tissue and immune homeostasis. Instauration of homeostasis is critical for tissue regeneration, wound healing, and host recovery. Recent studies revealed that severe infectious diseases frequently result from failures in homeostatic processes rather than from inefficient pathogen eradication. Type I interferons (IFN) appear to play a key role in such processes. Remarkably, the involvement of type I IFNs in the regulation of immune and tissue homeostasis upon bacterial insult may have beneficial or detrimental consequences for the host. The reasons for such ambivalent function of type I IFNs are not understood. The disparate effects of type I IFNs on bacterial infections are in marked contrast to their well-established protective roles in most viral infections. In this review, we will focus on type I IFN effector mechanisms which balance processes involved in immune and tissue homeostasis during specific bacterial infections and highlight the most important missing links in our understanding of type I IFN functions.
Highlights
Successful defense against pathogens requires both, the eradication of the infectious agent by the immune system as well as tissue protection against the damaging effects of the immune response
Recent studies established that successful tissue protection during infection requires systems which balance the immune response as well as mechanisms which restore tissue homeostasis
Several recent studies demonstrated that type I interferons (IFNs) can act as critical resilience-promoting cytokines during infections with several streptococcal species [9,10,11]
Summary
Received: 01 November 2016 Accepted: 14 December 2016 Published: 26 December 2016. Citation: Kovarik P, Castiglia V, Ivin M and Ebner F (2016) Type I Interferons in Bacterial Infections: A Balancing Act. Type I interferons (IFN) appear to play a key role in such processes. The involvement of type I IFNs in the regulation of immune and tissue homeostasis upon bacterial insult may have beneficial or detrimental consequences for the host. The reasons for such ambivalent function of type I IFNs are not understood. The disparate effects of type I IFNs on bacterial infections are in marked contrast to their well-established protective roles in most viral infections. We will focus on type I IFN effector mechanisms which balance processes involved in immune and tissue homeostasis during specific bacterial infections and highlight the most important missing links in our understanding of type I IFN functions
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