Human-Fungal Pathogen Interactions from the Perspective of Immunoproteomics Analyses

Abstract

Antibody immunity is now known to play a critical role in combating mycotic infections. The identification of molecules that can elicit an antibody response against fungal pathogens is the first step in developing antibody-based therapeutic strategies. Antigenic proteins are molecules recognized by the immune system that can stimulate antibody production and, therefore, can be a direct target for studying human-fungal pathogen interactions. Advances in recent immunoproteomic approaches have substantially aided in determining the key antigenic proteins on a large scale. In this review, we present a collection of antigenic proteins identified in yeast, dimorphic, and filamentous fungal pathogens to date. The general features of antigenic proteins are summarized and reveal that the proteins could commonly function in antistress responses, protein synthesis, and metabolism. The antigenic proteins listed here could serve as starting materials for developing species-specific or broad-spectrum diagnostic tests, therapeutic antibodies, and even vaccines against fungal infections.

Keywords: antibody-based therapies; antigenic proteins; fungal pathogens; host–pathogen interaction; immunoproteomics.

Figure 1

Immunoproteomics is an important approach for the identification of antigenic protein from fungal pathogens. A schematic of the immunoproteomic approach is depicted in the black box. Possible variations in each step are described in blue. The research significance of the identified antigenic protein is described in the grey box.