Beschreibung:
The history of mankind has been shaped by infections, more than by war and famine together. At the same time, however, the development of society has had an equally important effect on human diseases. The emergence of agriculture, urban societies and high population densities has been proven to be crucial for the spread of pathogens, and thus human action is currently the single most important driver of infectious epidemiology. Even today, where once major killers such as poliomyelitis have been eradicated, new pathogens are appearing as result of human activity. One such group of pathogens are the fungi, whose emergence is mainly due to modern medical practices. Fungal microorganisms, from yeasts colonizing the skin or mucosa, to molds from soil or water, are usually harmless in the context of normal host responses. However, the success of chemotherapy, as well as the AIDS pandemia, has led to immune deficiencies in a significant segment of the patient population, and the extensive use of intravenous catheters has provided a way of access for microorganisms which otherwise would find difficult to infect the host. As a result, a yeast such as Candida is now on the 4th place on the list of the most frequent sepsis agents, whereas infection with the mold Aspergillus is increasing in incidence and it is one of the most feared complications in patients with hematological malignancies.
The history of mankind has been shaped by infections, more than by war and famine together. At the same time, however, the development of society has had an equally important effect on human diseases. The emergence of agriculture, urban societies and high population densities has been proven to be crucial for the spread of pathogens, and thus human action is currently the single most important driver of infectious epidemiology. Even today, where once major killers such as poliomyelitis have been eradicated, new pathogens are appearing as result of human activity. One such group of pathogens are the fungi, whose emergence is mainly due to modern medical practices. Fungal microorganisms, from yeasts colonizing the skin or mucosa, to molds from soil or water, are usually harmless in the context of normal host responses. However, the success of chemotherapy, as well as the AIDS pandemia, has led to immune deficiencies in a significant segment of the patient population, and the extensive use of intravenous catheters has provided a way of access for microorganisms which otherwise would find difficult to infect the host. As a result, a yeast such as Candida is now on the 4th place on the list of the most frequent sepsis agents, whereas infection with the mold Aspergillus is increasing in incidence and it is one of the most feared complications in patients with hematological malignancies.
Preface
Section 1: Cells
chapter 1: Macrophages
Sigrid E.M. Heinsbroek and Siamon Gordon; University of Oxford
chapter 2: Dendritic cells
Luigina Romani; University of Perugia
chapter 3: The neutrophil
David H. Dockrell, Emmet E. McGrath, Moira KB Whyte, and Ian Sabroe; University of Sheffield
chapter 4: Lymphocytes
Anna Vecchiarelli, Antonella Mencacci, Francesco Bistoni ; University of Perugia
chapter 5: Other cells: The role of non-neutrophilic granulocytes, NK and NKT cells in fungal immunology
Jeremy CD Wiseman and Christopher H. Mody; University of Calgary
chapter 6: Genes and gene pathways in Candida Infection
Robert B. Ashman, Camile S. Fara, and Christine Wells; University of Queensland and Griffith University
Section 2: Soluble factors
chapter 7: Collectins and pentraxins
Uday Kishore and Ken Reid; University of Oxford and Justus-Liebig-University
chapter 8: Complement in fungal infections and complement evasion strategies
Cornelia Speth, Cornelia Lass-Flörl and Reinhard Würzner; Innsbruck Medical University and Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute of AIDS Research.
chapter 9: Cytokines
Karen F. Buckland and Cory M. Hogaboam; University of Michigan Medical School.
chapter 10: Antibodies
Josè Lòpez-Ribot, Rosalìa Dìez-Orejas and Concha Gil ; The University of Texas at San Antonio and Complutense University
Section 3: Non-Opsonic Fungal Receptors
chapter 11: The recognition of fungal pathogens by Toll-like receptors
Mihai G. Netea, Jos WM Van der Meer, Bart Jan Kullberg; Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center and Nijmegen University Center for Infectious Diseases
chapter 12: Fungal ß-glucans and their receptors
S Vicky Tsoni and Gordon D Brown; University of Cape Town
chapter 13: Detection of fungi by mannose-basedrecognition receptors
F Meyer-Wentrup, A Cambi, CG Figdor and GJ Adema; Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center
Section 4: Immunity to specific pathogens
chapter 14: Pneumocystis
Laura McKinley and Chad Steele, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
chapter 15: Interactions of Aspergillus fumigatus with its host during invasive pulmonary infections
Jean-Paul Latgé and Anne Beauvais; Pasteur Institute
chapter 16: C. albicans and C. glabrata
Desa Lilic and Ken Haynes, School of Clinial Medicines, Newcastle University and Department of INfectious diseases, Imerpial College London
chapter 17: Immunology of infections with Cryptococcus neoformans
Pauline Ellerbroek, Anna Vecchiarelli, Andy Hoepelman and Frank Coenjaerts; University Medical Center and University of Perugia.
chapter 18: Histoplasma capsulatum
Joshua D Nosanchuk; Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Section 5
chapter 19: Escape mechanisms from the immune response
David M. Underhill; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Section 6: Immune-based therapeutic strategies
chapter 20: Cytokine treatment of fungal infections
Bart-Jan Kullberg; Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center
chapter 21: Fungal vaccines and vaccination: problems and perspectives
Antonio Cassone; Istituto Superiore di Santià
Index
The history of mankind has been shaped by infections, more than by war and famine together. At the same time, however, the development of society has had an equally important effect on human diseases. The emergence of agriculture, urban societies and high population densities has been proven to be crucial for the spread of pathogens, and thus human action is currently the single most important driver of infectious epidemiology. Even today, where once major killers such as poliomyelitis have been eradicated, new pathogens are appearing as result of human activity. One such group of pathogens are the fungi, whose emergence is mainly due to modern medical practices. Fungal microorganisms, from yeasts colonizing the skin or mucosa, to molds from soil or water, are usually harmless in the context of normal host responses. However, the success of chemotherapy, as well as the AIDS pandemia, has led to immune deficiencies in a significant segment of the patient population, and the extensive use of intravenous catheters has provided a way of access for microorganisms which otherwise would find difficult to infect the host. As a result, a yeast such as Candida is now on the 4th place on the list of the most frequent sepsis agents, whereas infection with the mold Aspergillus is increasing in incidence and it is one of the most feared complications in patients with hematological malignancies.
