Department of Microbiology and Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, Pomorska 251, 92-213 Lodz, Poland.
Laboratory of Epigenetics, Institute of Medical Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lodowa 106, 93-232 Lodz, Poland.
Cells. 2021 Sep 22;10(10):2510. doi: 10.3390/cells10102510.
The fungal kingdom includes a group of microorganisms that are widely distributed in the environment, and therefore the exposure to them is almost constant. Furthermore, fungal components of the microbiome, i.e., mycobiome, could serve as a reservoir of potentially opportunistic pathogens. Despite close encounters with fungi, defense mechanisms that develop during fungal infections remain unexplored. The strategic location of mast cells (MCs) close to the external environment places them among the first cells to encounter pathogens along with the other innate immune cells. MCs are directly involved in the host defense through the ability to destroy pathogens or indirectly by activating other immune cells. Most available data present MCs' involvement in antibacterial, antiviral, or antiparasitic defense mechanisms. However, less is known about their contribution in defense mechanisms against fungi. MCs may support immune responses to fungi or their specific molecules through initiated degranulation, synthesis and release of cytokines, chemokines, mediators, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as immune cells' recruitment, phagocytosis, or provision of extracellular DNA traps. This review summarizes current knowledge on host defense mechanisms against fungi and MCs' involvement in those processes. It also describes the effects of fungi or fungus-derived constituents on MCs' activity.
真菌界包括一组广泛分布于环境中的微生物，因此人们几乎一直处于接触真菌的状态。此外，微生物组的真菌成分，即真菌组，可作为潜在机会性病原体的储库。尽管与真菌密切接触，但在真菌感染过程中形成的防御机制仍未被探索。肥大细胞 (MCs) 的战略位置靠近外部环境，使它们成为与其他先天免疫细胞一起首先接触病原体的细胞之一。MCs 通过破坏病原体或通过间接激活其他免疫细胞来直接参与宿主防御。大多数现有数据表明 MCs 参与了抗细菌、抗病毒或抗寄生虫的防御机制。然而，人们对它们在防御真菌机制中的贡献知之甚少。MCs 可以通过引发脱颗粒、合成和释放细胞因子、趋化因子、介质以及产生活性氧物质 (ROS) ，以及募集免疫细胞、吞噬作用或提供细胞外 DNA 陷阱，来支持针对真菌或其特定分子的免疫反应。这篇综述总结了宿主防御真菌的机制以及 MCs 在这些过程中的参与情况。它还描述了真菌或真菌衍生成分对 MCs 活性的影响。
