Current trends to control fungal pathogens: exploiting our knowledge in the host–pathogen interaction

Human fungal infections remain a major challenge in medicine. Only a limited number of antifungal drugs are available, which are often related to severe adverse effects. In addition, there is an increased emergence related to resistant strains, which makes imperative to understand the host-pathogen interactions as well as to develop alternative treatments. Host innate and adaptive immunity play a crucial role controlling fungal infections; therefore, vaccines are a viable tool to prevent and treat fungal pathogens. Innate immunity is triggered by the interaction between the cell surface pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Such an initial immunological response is yet little understood in fungal infections, in part due to the complexity and plasticity of the fungal cell walls. Described host cell–fungus interactions and antigenic molecules are addressed in this paper. Furthermore, antigens found in the cell wall and capsule, including peptides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, and glycans, have been used to trigger specific immune responses, and an increased production of antibodies has been observed when attached to immunogenic molecules. The recent biotechnological advances have allowed the development of vaccines against viral and bacterial pathogens with positive results; therefore, this technology has been applied to develop anti-fungal vaccines. Passive immunization has also emerged as an appealing alternative to treat disseminated mycosis, especially in immunocompromised patients. Those approaches have a long way to be seen in clinical cases. However, all studies discussed here open the possibility to have access to new therapies to be applied alone or in combination with current antifungal drugs. Herein, the state of the art of fungal vaccine developments is discussed in this review, highlighting new advances against Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, and Sporothrix spp.