AUTHOR=Bigot Jeanne , Guillot Loïc , Guitard Juliette , Ruffin Manon , Corvol Harriet , Balloy Viviane , Hennequin Christophe 

TITLE=Bronchial Epithelial Cells on the Front Line to Fight Lung Infection-Causing Aspergillus fumigatus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01041

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2020.01041

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Aspergillus fumigatus</italic> is an environmental filamentous fungus that can be pathogenic for humans, wherein it is responsible for a large variety of clinical forms ranging from allergic diseases to life-threatening disseminated infections. The contamination occurs by inhalation of conidia present in the air, and the first encounter of this fungus in the human host is most likely with the bronchial epithelial cells. Although alveolar macrophages have been widely studied in the <italic>Aspergillus</italic>–lung interaction, increasing evidence suggests that bronchial epithelium plays a key role in responding to the fungus. This review focuses on the innate immune response of the bronchial epithelial cells against <italic>A. fumigatus</italic>, the predominant pathogenic species. We have also detailed the molecular interactants and the effects of the different modes of interaction between these cells and the fungus.</p>