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Vaccine development for pathogenic fungi: current status and future directions
Jéssica L Chechi1, Felipe A C da Costa1,2, Julia M Figueiredo1
1Laboratório de Fungos Dimórficos Patogênicos, Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, SP, Brazil.
Introduction:
Fungal infections are caused by a broad range of pathogenic fungi that are found worldwide with different geographic distributions, incidences, and mortality rates. Considering that there are relatively few approved medications available for combating fungal diseases and no vaccine formulation commercially available, multiple groups are searching for new antifungal drugs, examining drugs for repurposing and developing antifungal vaccines, in order to control deaths, sequels, and the spread of these complex infections.
Areas Covered:
This review provides a summary of advances in fungal vaccine studies and the different approaches under development, such as subunit vaccines, whole organism vaccines, and DNA vaccines, as well as studies that optimize the use of adjuvants. We conducted a literature search of the PubMed with terms: fungal vaccines and genus of fungal pathogens (Cryptococcus spp. Candida spp. Coccidioides spp. Aspergillus spp. Sporothrix spp. Histoplasma spp. Paracoccidioides spp. Pneumocystis spp. and the Mucorales order), a total of 177 articles were collected from database.
Expert Opinion:
Problems regarding the immune response development in an immunocompromised organism, the similarity between fungal and mammalian cells, and the lack of attention by health organizations to fungal infections are closely related to the fact that, at present, there are no fungal vaccines available for clinical use.
Insights
Developing novel antifungal vaccines is crucial due to limited treatments for fungal infections. This review summarizes current vaccine research, including subunit, whole organism, and DNA approaches, to combat these widespread diseases.
Area of Science:
- * Mycology and Immunology
- * Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology
Background:
- * Fungal infections pose a global health threat with high mortality and limited therapeutic options.
- * Existing antifungal medications are few, and no effective antifungal vaccine is currently available.
- * Research is actively pursuing new antifungal drugs, drug repurposing, and vaccine development.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To review and summarize the latest advancements in fungal vaccine research.
- * To outline various vaccine strategies currently under investigation for fungal pathogens.
- * To identify challenges hindering the clinical availability of antifungal vaccines.
Main Methods:
- * A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed.
- * Keywords included 'fungal vaccines' and specific genera of fungal pathogens (e.g., *Cryptococcus*, *Candida*, *Aspergillus*).
- * A total of 177 relevant articles were collected and analyzed.
Main Results:
- * Several vaccine approaches are being explored, including subunit, whole organism, and DNA vaccines.
- * Optimization of adjuvant use is a key area of study in enhancing vaccine efficacy.
- * The review covers vaccine development for a range of significant fungal pathogens.
Conclusions:
- * No antifungal vaccines are currently approved for clinical use.
- * Challenges include difficulties in eliciting immune responses in immunocompromised individuals and the similarity between fungal and host cells.
- * Increased attention from health organizations is needed to address the burden of fungal infections.
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