Fungi that Infect Humans
- PMID: 28597822
- DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.FUNK-0014-2016
Fungi that Infect Humans
Abstract
Fungi must meet four criteria to infect humans: growth at human body temperatures, circumvention or penetration of surface barriers, lysis and absorption of tissue, and resistance to immune defenses, including elevated body temperatures. Morphogenesis between small round, detachable cells and long, connected cells is the mechanism by which fungi solve problems of locomotion around or through host barriers. Secretion of lytic enzymes, and uptake systems for the released nutrients, are necessary if a fungus is to nutritionally utilize human tissue. Last, the potent human immune system evolved in the interaction with potential fungal pathogens, so few fungi meet all four conditions for a healthy human host. Paradoxically, the advances of modern medicine have made millions of people newly susceptible to fungal infections by disrupting immune defenses. This article explores how different members of four fungal phyla use different strategies to fulfill the four criteria to infect humans: the Entomophthorales, the Mucorales, the Ascomycota, and the Basidiomycota. Unique traits confer human pathogenic potential on various important members of these phyla: pathogenic Onygenales comprising thermal dimorphs such as Histoplasma and Coccidioides; the Cryptococcus spp. that infect immunocompromised as well as healthy humans; and important pathogens of immunocompromised patients-Candida, Pneumocystis, and Aspergillus spp. Also discussed are agents of neglected tropical diseases important in global health such as mycetoma and paracoccidiomycosis and common pathogens rarely implicated in serious illness such as dermatophytes. Commensalism is considered, as well as parasitism, in shaping genomes and physiological systems of hosts and fungi during evolution.
Similar articles
-
The spectrum of fungi that infects humans.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2014 Nov 3;5(1):a019273. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a019273. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2014. PMID: 25367975 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Human Fungal Pathogens of Mucorales and Entomophthorales.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2014 Nov 6;5(4):a019562. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a019562. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2014. PMID: 25377138 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Opportunistic and pathogenic fungi.J Antimicrob Chemother. 1991 Jul;28 Suppl A:1-11. doi: 10.1093/jac/28.suppl_a.1. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1991. PMID: 1938702 Review.
-
Epidemiology of invasive mycoses in North America.Crit Rev Microbiol. 2010;36(1):1-53. doi: 10.3109/10408410903241444. Crit Rev Microbiol. 2010. PMID: 20088682 Review.
-
How Environmental Fungi Cause a Range of Clinical Outcomes in Susceptible Hosts.J Mol Biol. 2019 Jul 26;431(16):2982-3009. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.05.003. Epub 2019 May 9. J Mol Biol. 2019. PMID: 31078554 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Short Tandem Repeat Genotyping of Medically Important Fungi: A Comprehensive Review of a Powerful Tool with Extensive Future Potential.Mycopathologia. 2024 Aug 3;189(5):72. doi: 10.1007/s11046-024-00877-8. Mycopathologia. 2024. PMID: 39096450 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Identification of Food Spoilage Fungi Using MALDI-TOF MS: Spectral Database Development and Application to Species Complex.J Fungi (Basel). 2024 Jun 28;10(7):456. doi: 10.3390/jof10070456. J Fungi (Basel). 2024. PMID: 39057341 Free PMC article.
-
Saps1-3 Antigens in Candida albicans: Differential Modulation Following Exposure to Soluble Proteins, Mammalian Cells, and Infection in Mice.Infect Dis Rep. 2024 Jun 28;16(4):572-586. doi: 10.3390/idr16040043. Infect Dis Rep. 2024. PMID: 39051243 Free PMC article.
-
Pseudonectria keratitis-emerging pathogenic fungi in the eye.Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2024 Jul 18;23(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12941-024-00723-1. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2024. PMID: 39026348 Free PMC article.
-
Candida albicans and Candida glabrata: global priority pathogens.Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2024 Jun 27;88(2):e0002123. doi: 10.1128/mmbr.00021-23. Epub 2024 Jun 4. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2024. PMID: 38832801 Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous