Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, E 1057 Biomedical Science Tower, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
Immunol Res. 2011 Aug;50(2-3):175-80. doi: 10.1007/s12026-011-8218-x.
With increases in the immunocompromised patient population and aging of the HIV+ population, the risk of serious fungal infections and their complications will continue to rise. In these populations, infection with the fungal opportunistic pathogen Pneumocystis jirovecii remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Infection with Pneumocystis (Pc) has been shown to be associated with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in human subjects with and without HIV infection and in non-human primate models of HIV infection. In human studies and in a primate model of HIV/Pc co-infection, we have shown that antibody response to the Pc protein, kexin (KEX1), correlates with protection from colonization, Pc pneumonia, and COPD. These findings support the hypothesis that immunity to KEX1 may be critical to controlling Pc colonization and preventing or slowing development of COPD.
随着免疫功能低下患者人群的增加和 HIV 阳性人群的老龄化，严重真菌感染及其并发症的风险将继续上升。在这些人群中，真菌性机会病原体肺孢子菌感染仍是发病率和死亡率的主要原因。研究表明，肺孢子菌（Pc）感染与人类 HIV 感染者和非 HIV 感染者的慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）的发展以及 HIV 感染的非人类灵长类动物模型中的 COPD 的发展有关。在人类研究和 HIV/Pc 合并感染的灵长类动物模型中，我们已经表明，对 Pc 蛋白 kexin（KEX1）的抗体反应与预防定植、Pc 肺炎和 COPD 有关。这些发现支持这样一种假设，即对 KEX1 的免疫可能是控制 Pc 定植和预防或减缓 COPD 发展的关键。
