Adjuvants and delivery systems for antifungal vaccines: current state and future developments

Mycoses are gaining increasing attention in modern medicine because of the increase in diseases associated with opportunistic fungal infections. Despite the recognized role of the immune system in the control of fungal infections, no antifungal vaccines are currently licensed for use in humans. However, numerous vaccine candidates are being developed in many laboratories, as proof of the renewed interest in integrating or replacing chemotherapy with vaccines to reduce antibiotic use and consequently limit drug resistance and toxicity. In the effort to use safer and simpler fungal antigens for vaccinations, adjuvants have become relevant as immunostimulators to elicit successful protective immune responses. To address the relevant role of adjuvants as determinants in the balance of vaccine efficacy and safety, an updated and critical review of the adjuvants used in preclinical antifungal vaccines is presented, and prospective trends are addressed. Selected recent papers and other historically relevant and innovative strategies using adjuvants in experimental fungal vaccines are highlighted.