Fungal Pathogens: Survival and Replication within Macrophages
- 1Institute of Microbiology and Infection & School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
- 2Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469
- 3Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2TG, United Kingdom
- 4NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre, University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2TG, United Kingdom
- Correspondence: r.c.may{at}bham.ac.uk
Abstract
The innate immune system is a critical line of defense against pathogenic fungi. Macrophages act at an early stage of infection, detecting and phagocytizing infectious propagules. To avoid killing at this stage, fungal pathogens use diverse strategies ranging from evasion of uptake to intracellular parasitism. This article will discuss five of the most important human fungal pathogens (Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, Coccidiodes immitis, and Histoplasma capsulatum) and consider the strategies and virulence factors adopted by each to survive and replicate within macrophages.
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