Section of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, LSU Health Sciences Center, Medical Education Building 3205, 1901 Perdido Street, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Future Microbiol. 2010 Jan;5(1):43-65. doi: 10.2217/fmb.09.116.
Pneumocystis jirovecii is the opportunistic fungal organism that causes Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in humans. Similar to other opportunistic pathogens, Pneumocystis causes disease in individuals who are immunocompromised, particularly those infected with HIV. PCP remains the most common opportunistic infection in patients with AIDS. Incidence has decreased greatly with the advent of HAART. However, an increase in the non-HIV immunocompromised population, noncompliance with current treatments, emergence of drug-resistant strains and rise in HIV(+) cases in developing countries makes Pneumocystis a pathogen of continued interest and a public health threat. A great deal of research interest has addressed therapeutic interventions to boost waning immunity in the host to prevent or treat PCP. This article focuses on research conducted during the previous 5 years regarding the host immune response to Pneumocystis, including innate, cell-mediated and humoral immunity, and associated immunotherapies tested against PCP.
卡氏肺孢子虫是一种机会性真菌病原体,可导致人类患卡氏肺孢子虫肺炎(PCP)。与其他机会性病原体类似,卡氏肺孢子虫在免疫功能低下的个体中引起疾病,特别是那些感染 HIV 的个体。PCP 仍然是 AIDS 患者最常见的机会性感染。随着高效抗逆转录病毒治疗(HAART)的出现,发病率大大降低。然而,非 HIV 免疫功能低下人群的增加、对现有治疗方法的不遵守、耐药菌株的出现以及发展中国家 HIV(+)病例的增加,使得卡氏肺孢子虫仍然是一个令人关注的病原体和公共卫生威胁。大量研究关注于治疗干预措施,以增强宿主逐渐减弱的免疫力,从而预防或治疗 PCP。本文重点介绍了过去 5 年中有关宿主对卡氏肺孢子虫的免疫反应的研究,包括先天、细胞介导和体液免疫,以及针对 PCP 进行的相关免疫治疗。