Prospects of vaccines for invasive aspergillosis

Invasive aspergillosis is a disease of immunocompromised hosts and the pathogenesis of this disorder is heavily dependent upon the defect within a given host. Consequently, vaccine development is limited by our understanding of effective host responses and by limitations in our knowledge of fungal molecules that elicit protective immunity. Nonetheless, the past few years have witnessed advances in our understanding both of the immune response to this organism and in the relationship between antigenicity and the ability to confer protection. Manipulations that promote the development of T(H)1-associated responses correlate with increased resistance to disease, at least partly because of consequent enhancement of innate cellular effector function. Two areas of investigation most actively being pursued include the search for adjuvants that will allow products of Aspergillus fumigatus to become effective vaccine candidates, regardless of the form of immunity they ordinarily induce, and the identification of the specific antigens that will most effectively elicit beneficial responses. Strategies using antigen-exposed dendritic cells as adjuvants appear to be particularly promising. Though we currently are far away from a candidate that is applicable for human trials, recent progress is encouraging.