The Journal of infectious diseases
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Secondary hospital-acquired fungal infections are common in critically-ill patients and mortality remains high despite antimicrobial therapy. Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a potent immunotherapeutic agent that improves host immunity and has shown efficacy in bacterial and viral models of infection. This study examined the ability of IL-7, which is currently in multiple clinical trials (including hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus), to improve survival in a clinically relevant 2-hit model of fungal sepsis. ⋯ The present findings showing that IL-7 improves survival in fungal sepsis, together with its previously reported efficacy in bacterial and viral infectious models, further supports its use as a novel immunotherapeutic in sepsis.