Fungal Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Targets for Immune Interventions

ABSTRACT The release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) by fungi is a fundamental cellular process. EVs carry several biomolecules, including pigments, proteins, enzymes, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates, and are involved in physiological and pathological processes. EVs may play a pivotal role...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mateus Silveira Freitas, Vânia Luiza Deperon Bonato, Andre Moreira Pessoni, Marcio L. Rodrigues, Arturo Casadevall, Fausto Almeida
Format: article
Language:EN
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/ff8a68ec32a54d9093e8fecdf2c80627
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT The release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) by fungi is a fundamental cellular process. EVs carry several biomolecules, including pigments, proteins, enzymes, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates, and are involved in physiological and pathological processes. EVs may play a pivotal role in the establishment of fungal infections, as they can interact with the host immune system to elicit multiple outcomes. It has been observed that, depending on the fungal pathogen, EVs can exacerbate or attenuate fungal infections. The study of the interaction between fungal EVs and the host immune system and understanding of the mechanisms that regulate those interactions might be useful for the development of new adjuvants as well as the improvement of protective immune responses against infectious or noninfectious diseases. In this review, we describe the immunomodulatory properties of EVs produced by pathogenic fungi and discuss their potential as adjuvants for prophylactic or therapeutic strategies.