Immunotherapy against Systemic Fungal Infections Based on Monoclonal Antibodies

Author(s)

Boniche, Camila ^[1] ; Rossi, Suelen Andreia ^[1] ; Kischkel, Brenda ^[1] ; Barbalho, Filipe Vieira ^[1] ; D'Aurea Moura, Agata Nogueira ^[2] ; Nosanchuk, Joshua D. ^{[3, 4]} ; Travassos, Luiz R. ^[5] ; Taborda, Carlos Pelleschi ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Microbiol, Biomed Sci Inst, Sao Paulo 05508000 - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Trop Med Inst, Dept Dermatol, Fac Med, Sao Paulo 05403000 - Brazil

^[3] Albert Einstein Coll Med, Dept Med, Div Infect Dis, New York, NY 10461 - USA

^[4] Albert Einstein Coll Med, Dept Microbiol & Immunol, Div Infect Dis, New York, NY 10461 - USA

^[5] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo 04021001 - Brazil

• Document type: Review article
• Source: JOURNAL OF FUNGI; v. 6, n. 1 MAR 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

The increasing incidence in systemic fungal infections in humans has increased focus for the development of fungal vaccines and use of monoclonal antibodies. Invasive mycoses are generally difficult to treat, as most occur in vulnerable individuals, with compromised innate and adaptive immune responses. Mortality rates in the setting of our current antifungal drugs remain excessively high. Moreover, systemic mycoses require prolonged durations of antifungal treatment and side effects frequently occur, particularly drug-induced liver and/or kidney injury. The use of monoclonal antibodies with or without concomitant administration of antifungal drugs emerges as a potentially efficient treatment modality to improve outcomes and reduce chemotherapy toxicities. In this review, we focus on the use of monoclonal antibodies with experimental evidence on the reduction of fungal burden and prolongation of survival in in vivo disease models. Presently, there are no licensed monoclonal antibodies for use in the treatment of systemic mycoses, although the potential of such a vaccine is very high as indicated by the substantial promising results from several experimental models. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/26402-1 - Prospection of new epitopes with vaccine potential in the control of experimental infection by Histoplasma capsulatum
• Grantee: Brenda Kischkel
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• FAPESP's process: 16/08730-6 - Fungal pathogenicity: environmental effects, immune response and vaccine modulation in the Brazilian endemic mycoses paracoccidioidomycosis and histoplasmosis
• Grantee: Carlos Pelleschi Taborda
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/25780-0 - Presentation by human dendritic cells of peptides with vaccine capacity and prospection of pan-fungal antigens in paracoccidioidomycosis
• Grantee: Suélen Andreia Rossi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral