Fungus Among Us: The Frenemies Within

Trends Immunol. 2019 Jun;40(6):469-471. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2019.04.007. Epub 2019 Apr 30.

Abstract

A recent study shows that the commensal fungus Candida albicans is an inducer of differentiation of human CD4+ Th17 cells that harbor heterologous specificity for other fungi, which may explain evolutionary benefits of C. albicans as a commensal microbe (Bacher et al. Cell 2019;176;1340-1355). However, Th17 cells that are crossreactive to Aspergillus fumigatus antigens can also drive exaggerated airway inflammation in humans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Candida albicans*
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Humans
  • Immunity
  • Inflammation
  • Th17 Cells*