Immunotherapeutic approaches to treatment of fungal diseases
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Fungal infections cause morbidity worldwide and are associated with an unacceptably high mortality despite the availability of antifungal drugs. The incidence of mycoses is rising because of the HIV pandemic and because immunomodulatory drugs are increasingly used to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer. New classes of antifungal drugs have only been partly successful in improving the prognosis for patients with fungal infection. Adjunctive host-directed therapy is therefore believed to be the only option to further improve patient outcomes. Recent advances in the understanding of complex interactions between fungi and host have led to the design and exploration of novel therapeutic strategies in cytokine therapy, vaccines, and cellular immunotherapy, each of which might become viable adjuncts to existing antifungal regimens. In this report, we discuss immunotherapeutic approaches-the rationale behind their design, the challenges in their use, and the progress that is so urgently needed to overcome the devastating effect of fungal diseases.
Date Issued
2017-07-31
Date Acceptance
2017-02-09
Citation
Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2017, 17 (12), pp.e393-e402
ISSN
1473-3099
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
e393
End Page
e402
Journal / Book Title
Lancet Infectious Diseases
Volume
17
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28774700
PII: S1473-3099(17)30442-5
Subjects
Humans
Immunologic Factors
Immunotherapy
Mycoses
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States