title: Antibody-mediated protective immunity in fungal infections.
abstract: The host response to fungal infection is the result of a complex interaction between the pathogen and the host's innate and adaptive immune system. Cell-mediated immunity is widely considered to be critical for the successful outcome of fungal infections. However, in recent years numerous studies have established that certain antibodies may play an important role in host immunoprotection against pathogenic fungi, through interaction with different cellular targets, such as mannans, heat shock proteins, capsular polysaccharides, surface proteins, and yeast killer toxin receptors, with mechanisms of action sometimes still undefined. This review summarizes the latest findings on the role of different types of antibodies in the antifungal defense against infections caused by epidemiologically important fungi, such as Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, and others. New perspectives of antibody-mediated therapy, based on the availability of monoclonal and recombinant antibodies as well as genetically engineered antibody fragments of defined specificity, will be also envisaged and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sezione di Microbiologia, Dipartimento di Patologia e Medicina di Laboratorio, Università degli Studi di Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Magliani
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arseni
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salati
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ravanetti
authors.forename: Domenico L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Maffei
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giovati
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Polonelli
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000276:immunology; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000276:immunology; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D009181:Mycoses / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal