Gow Neil A R, Netea Mihai G
Aberdeen Fungal Group, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK
Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Nijmegen, 6500HB, The Netherlands.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016 Dec 5;371(1709). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0462.
Fungi cause more than a billion skin infections, more than 100 million mucosal infections, 10 million serious allergies and more than a million deaths each year. Global mortality owing to fungal infections is greater than for malaria and breast cancer and is equivalent to that owing to tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. These statistics evidence fungal infections as a major threat to human health and a major burden to healthcare budgets worldwide. Those patients who are at greatest risk of life-threatening fungal infections include those who have weakened immunity or have suffered trauma or other predisposing infections such as HIV. To address these global threats to human health, more research is urgently needed to understand the immunopathology of fungal disease and human disease susceptibility in order to augment the advances being made in fungal diagnostics and drug development. Here, we highlight some recent advances in basic research in medical mycology and fungal immunology that are beginning to inform clinical decisions and options for personalized medicine, vaccine development and adjunct immunotherapies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience'.
真菌每年导致超过10亿例皮肤感染、超过1亿例黏膜感染、1000万例严重过敏反应以及超过100万例死亡。真菌感染导致的全球死亡率高于疟疾和乳腺癌，与结核病和艾滋病相当。这些统计数据证明真菌感染是对人类健康的重大威胁，也是全球医疗预算的重大负担。那些面临危及生命的真菌感染风险最高的患者包括免疫力低下、遭受创伤或患有其他易感性感染（如艾滋病）的患者。为应对这些对人类健康的全球威胁，迫切需要开展更多研究，以了解真菌疾病的免疫病理学和人类疾病易感性，从而推动真菌诊断和药物开发方面的进展。在此，我们重点介绍医学真菌学和真菌免疫学基础研究的一些最新进展，这些进展开始为临床决策以及个性化医疗、疫苗开发和辅助免疫疗法的选择提供依据。本文是主题为“应对真菌对动物健康、粮食安全和生态系统恢复力的新威胁”特刊的一部分。
