Striking a balance: fungal commensalism versus pathogenesis
ID Iliev, DM Underhill - Current opinion in microbiology, 2013 - Elsevier
Current opinion in microbiology, 2013•Elsevier
Highlights•The immune system is constantly exposed to fungi living at host mucosal surfaces
or coming from the environment.•Interactions between fungi and host immunity have
typically been studied in the context of fungal disease.•Many opportunistic fungi can also be
commesals, but interactions with the immune system in this setting are rarely studied.•The
immune system must tolerate colonization with commensal fungi but defend against fungal
invasion.The environment is suffused with nearly countless types of fungi, and our immune …
or coming from the environment.•Interactions between fungi and host immunity have
typically been studied in the context of fungal disease.•Many opportunistic fungi can also be
commesals, but interactions with the immune system in this setting are rarely studied.•The
immune system must tolerate colonization with commensal fungi but defend against fungal
invasion.The environment is suffused with nearly countless types of fungi, and our immune …
Highlights
- The immune system is constantly exposed to fungi living at host mucosal surfaces or coming from the environment.
- Interactions between fungi and host immunity have typically been studied in the context of fungal disease.
- Many opportunistic fungi can also be commesals, but interactions with the immune system in this setting are rarely studied.
- The immune system must tolerate colonization with commensal fungi but defend against fungal invasion.
The environment is suffused with nearly countless types of fungi, and our immune systems must be tuned to cope with constant exposure to them. In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear that many surfaces of our bodies are colonized with complex populations of fungi (the mycobiome) in the same way that they are colonized with complex populations of bacteria. The immune system must tolerate colonization with commensal fungi but defend against fungal invasion. Truly life-threatening fungal infections are common only when this balance is disrupted through, for example, profound immunosuppression or genetic mutation. Recent studies have begun to shed light on how this balance is established and maintained, and suggest future studies on the role of fungi in homeostatic conditions.
Elsevier