Dr. Firdaus - BMD MICOLOGY
Dr. Firdaus - BMD MICOLOGY
Dr. Firdaus - BMD MICOLOGY
Blastoconidia/ Ascospora
Blastospora
Clamidoconidia/
clamidospora
Phyaloconidia
Pathogenesis and Immunity of Fungal
Infections
Introduction
• Fungi are so widely distributed in environment.
They can be isolated from soil, air and water
• Human: normal flora or pathogen
• Common mechanism: Inhalation of infections
conidia generated from molds growing in the
environment
• Some environmental fungi produce disease:
injected past skin barrier
• Endogenous infection are restricted to a few
yeasts, primarily Candida albicans
Pathogenesis
• Fungal pathogenesis is similar to bacteria
• Most fungi are opportunists.
1. Adherence
✔ Adherence is mediated by fungal adhesins and host cell
receptors
✔ Manoprotein is an adhesin and fibronectin a receptor
2. Invasion:
✔ Traumatic injections
✔ small conidia pass airway defences
3. Tissue injury
✔ No classic exotoxins are produced in vivo
✔ Injury is due to inflammatory and immunologic responses
Pathogenesis
Fungi system view. Localized disease (left) is caused by local trauma or the superficial invasion of
flora resident on the oropharyngeal (thrush), gastrointestinal, or vaginal mucosa. Systemic disease
(right) begins with inhalation of conidia followed by dissemination to other sites.
Immunity
• Phagocyte interactions
✔ Most fungi are readily killed by neutrophils
✔ Tissue phases of dimorphic fungi resist phagocytic killing
• Adaptive immune response
✔ Humoral immunity: opsonizing antibody is effective in
some yeasts infection
✔ Cellular immunity:
1. Systemic disease associated with deficiencies in
neutrophils and T cell-mediated immunity
2. Fungi that escape neutrophils grow slowly in macrophages
3. Growth is restricted when macrophage activated by cytokines
4. Immune defects lead to progressive disease
Immunity