What the Site of a Fungal Infection Means for Outcome

Ref ID: 18776

Author:

Michail Lionakis, MD, ScD – Assistant Clinical Investigator

Author address:

NIAID, Bethesda, MD.

Full conference title:

52nd Annual ICAAC

Date: 9 September 2014

Abstract:

Invasive candidiasis is the 4th leading cause of nosocomial bloodstream infection in the US with mortality that exceeds 40% despite treatment. Therefore, better understanding of the pathogenesis of invasive candidiasis at the host-pathogen interface is necessary to improve patient outcomes. To that end, a mouse model of intravenous Candida inoculation that mimics skin-derived bloodstream disease in humans has been used extensively. A striking feature of the infection in the mouse model is that although Candida disseminates from the bloodstream to all organs, the microbiological progression of the infection is tissue-specific for reasons that are yet to be fully elucidated. Over the past years we have gained insight on how key Candida virulence traits such as filamentation and adhesion are modulated in vivo in a tissue-specific manner. Furthermore, recent studies have shed light on highly polarized organ-specific innate immune responses, which may account for the differential ability of various tissues to control Candida in vivo. These recent research findings create the foundation for better understanding the mycological and immunological factors that govern antifungal resistance and susceptibility at different anatomical sites, which could eventually lead to improved therapeutic strategies against fungi with specific tissue tropisms.

Abstract Number: 548

Conference Year: 2012

Link to conference website: NULL

New link: NULL

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