Marena Gabriel Davi, Thomaz Luciana, Nosanchuk Joshua Daniel, Taborda Carlos Pelleschi
Institute of Biomedical Science, Department of Microbiology, University of São Paulo (ICB II-USP), São Paulo 05508-900, Brazil.
Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
J Fungi (Basel). 2025 Feb 18;11(2):157. doi: 10.3390/jof11020157.
The incidence of fungal infections continues to increase and one of the factors responsible for these high rates is the emergence of multi-resistant species, hospitalizations, inappropriate or prolonged use of medications, and pandemics, such as the ongoing HIV/AIDS pandemic. The recent pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a significant increase in fungal infections, especially systemic mycoses caused by opportunistic fungi. There is a growing and urgent need to better understand how these microorganisms cause infection and develop resistance as well as to develop new therapeutic strategies to combat the diverse diseases caused by fungi. Non-mammalian hosts are increasingly used as alternative models to study microbial infections. Due to their low cost, simplicity of care, conserved innate immunity and reduced ethical issues, the greater wax moth is an excellent model host for studying fungal infections and it is currently widely used to study fungal pathogenesis and develop innovative strategies to mitigate the mycoses studied. can grow at 37 °C, which is similar to the mammalian temperature, and the anatomy of the larvae allows researchers to easily deliver pathogens, biological products, compounds and drugs. The aim of this review is to describe how is being used as a model system to study fungal infections as well as the importance of this model in evaluating the antifungal profile of potential drug candidates or new therapies against fungi.
真菌感染的发病率持续上升，导致这些高发病率的因素之一是多重耐药菌种的出现、住院治疗、药物的不当使用或长期使用，以及大流行，如当前的艾滋病毒/艾滋病大流行。由严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）引起的近期大流行导致真菌感染显著增加，尤其是由机会性真菌引起的系统性真菌病。越来越迫切需要更好地了解这些微生物如何引起感染并产生耐药性，以及开发新的治疗策略来对抗由真菌引起的各种疾病。非哺乳动物宿主越来越多地被用作研究微生物感染的替代模型。由于成本低、护理简单、固有免疫保守且伦理问题较少，大蜡螟是研究真菌感染的优秀模型宿主，目前被广泛用于研究真菌发病机制并开发减轻所研究真菌病的创新策略。大蜡螟可以在37°C下生长，这与哺乳动物体温相似，而且幼虫的解剖结构使研究人员能够轻松地输送病原体、生物制品、化合物和药物。本综述的目的是描述大蜡螟如何被用作研究真菌感染的模型系统，以及该模型在评估潜在候选药物或抗真菌新疗法的抗真菌谱方面的重要性。
