AUTHOR=Chen Junsong , Shao Jiasheng , Dai Min , Fang Wei , Yang Ya-li TITLE=Adaptive immunology of Cryptococcus neoformans infections—an update JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1174967 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1174967 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

The fungal genus Cryptococcus comprises a group of pathogens with considerable phenotypic and genotypic diversity that can lead to cryptococcosis in both healthy and immunocompromised individuals. With the emergence of the HIV pandemic, cryptococcosis, mainly meningoencephalitis, afflicts HIV-infected patients with severe dysfunction of T cells. It has also been reported in recipients of solid organ transplantation and in patients with autoimmune diseases who take immunosuppressive agents long-term, as well as in those with unidentified immunodeficiency. The clinical outcome of the disease is primarily determined by the immune response resulting from the interplay between the host immune system and the pathogen. Most human infections are caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, and nearly all immunological studies have focused on C. neoformans. This review provides an updated understanding of the role of adaptive immunity during infection with C. neoformans in human and animal models over the past half-decade.