Immunology of Fungal Infections

The history of mankind has been shaped by infections, more than by war and famine together. At the same time, however, the development of society has had an equally important effect on human diseases. The emergence of agriculture, urban societies and high population densities has been proven to be crucial for the spread of pathogens, and thus human action is currently the single most important driver of infectious epidemiology. Even today, where once major killers such as poliomyelitis have been eradicated, new pathogens are appearing as result of human activity. One such group of pathogens are the fungi, whose emergence is mainly due to modern medical practices. Fungal microorganisms, from yeasts colonizing the skin or mucosa, to molds from soil or water, are usually harmless in the context of normal host responses. However, the success of chemotherapy, as well as the AIDS pandemia, has led to immune deficiencies in a significant segment of the patient population, and the extensive use of intravenous catheters has provided a way of access for microorganisms which otherwise would find difficult to infect the host. As a result, a yeast such as Candida is now on the 4th place on the list of the most frequent sepsis agents, whereas infection with the mold Aspergillus is increasing in incidence and it is one of the most feared complications in patients with hematological malignancies.

Preface

Section 1: Cells

chapter 1: Macrophages

Sigrid E. M. Heinsbroek and Siamon Gordon; University of Oxford

chapter 2: Dendritic cells

Luigina Romani; University of Perugia

chapter 3: The neutrophil

David H. Dockrell, Emmet E. McGrath, Moira KB Whyte, and Ian Sabroe; University of Sheffield

chapter 4: Lymphocytes

Anna Vecchiarelli, Antonella Mencacci, Francesco Bistoni ; University of Perugia

chapter 5: Other cells: The role of non-neutrophilic granulocytes, NK and NKT cells in fungal immunology

Jeremy CD Wiseman and Christopher H. Mody; University of Calgary

chapter 6: Genes and gene pathways in Candida Infection

Robert B. Ashman, Camile S. Fara, and Christine Wells; University of Queensland and Griffith University

Section 2: Soluble factors

chapter 7: Collectins and pentraxins

Uday Kishore and Ken Reid; University of Oxford and Justus-Liebig-University

chapter 8: Complement in fungal infections and complement evasion strategies

Cornelia Speth, Cornelia Lass-Flörl and Reinhard Würzner; Innsbruck Medical University and Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute of AIDS Research.

chapter 9: Cytokines

Karen F. Buckland and Cory M. Hogaboam; University of Michigan Medical School.

chapter 10: Antibodies

Josè Lòpez-Ribot, Rosalìa Dìez-Orejas and Concha Gil ; The University of Texas at San Antonio and Complutense University

Section 3: Non-Opsonic Fungal Receptors

chapter 11: The recognition of fungal pathogens by Toll-like receptors

Mihai G. Netea, Jos WM Van der Meer, Bart Jan Kullberg; Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center and Nijmegen University Center for Infectious Diseases

chapter 12: Fungal ß-glucans and their receptors

S Vicky Tsoni and Gordon D Brown; University of Cape Town

chapter 13: Detection of fungi by mannose-basedrecognition receptors

F Meyer-Wentrup, A Cambi, CG Figdor and GJ Adema; Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center

Section 4: Immunity to specific pathogens

chapter 14: Pneumocystis

Laura McKinley and Chad Steele, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

chapter 15: Interactions of Aspergillus fumigatus with its host during invasive pulmonary infections

Jean-Paul Latgé and Anne Beauvais; Pasteur Institute

chapter 16: C. albicans and C. glabrata

Desa Lilic and Ken Haynes, School of Clinial Medicines, Newcastle University and Department of INfectious diseases, Imerpial College London

chapter 17: Immunology of infections with Cryptococcus neoformans

Pauline Ellerbroek, Anna Vecchiarelli, Andy Hoepelman and Frank Coenjaerts; University Medical Center and University of Perugia.

chapter 18: Histoplasma capsulatum

Joshua D Nosanchuk; Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Section 5
chapter 19: Escape mechanisms from the immune response

David M. Underhill; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Section 6: Immune-based therapeutic strategies

chapter 20: Cytokine treatment of fungal infections

Bart-Jan Kullberg; Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center

chapter 21: Fungal vaccines and vaccination: problems and perspectives

Antonio Cassone; Istituto Superiore di Santià

Index