Summary
In infectious diseases, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is generally accepted as one of the
most important inducers of antimicrobial and immunoregulatory effects, and both seemingly
contradictory effects, can be mediated by the same effector molecules. In detail,
several IFN-γ induced enzymes such as the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as
well as the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) also exert this double function. In
this review we focus on antimicrobial and immunoregulatory properties of both enzymes
expressed by human endothelial cells, which are prominent players in infectious diseases,
tumour immunology and transplant medicine.
Keywords
Endothelial cells - inducible nitric oxide synthase - indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase
- interferon-gamma - effector mechanisms