Candida vaginitis: virulence, host response and vaccine prospects

Abstract Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a common mucosal infection affecting a large proportion of women with some of them affected by recurrent often intractable forms of the disease. Thus, there is an increasing interest in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease. The aim of our work was to ch...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical mycology (Oxford) 2018-04, Vol.56 (suppl_1), p.26-31
Main Authors: De Bernardis, Flavia, Graziani, Sofia, Tirelli, Flavio, Antonopoulou, Stavroula
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases - immunology
Candida albicans - enzymology
Candida albicans - immunology
Candida albicans - pathogenicity
Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal - immunology
Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal - microbiology
Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal - pathology
Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal - prevention & control
Disease Models, Animal
Female
Fungal Proteins - immunology
Fungal Vaccines - immunology
Host-Pathogen Interactions - immunology
Vagina - immunology
Vagina - microbiology
Vagina - pathology
Virulence Factors - immunology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a common mucosal infection affecting a large proportion of women with some of them affected by recurrent often intractable forms of the disease. Thus, there is an increasing interest in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease. The aim of our work was to characterize, in animal models of vaginal candidiasis, the components of the host-fungus interaction at the mucosal level. The evidence of an immune response in the vaginal compartment was very encouraging to identify the proper targets for new strategies for vaccination or immunotherapy of vaginal candidiasis. Aspartyl-proteinase (Sap2), which is an important immunodominant antigens and virulence factors of C.albicans acting in mucosal infections, was assembled with virosomes and a vaccine PEV7 was obtained. The results obtained in the mouse model and in the clinical trial conducted by Pevion on women have evidenced that the vaccine PEV7, intravaginally administered, has an encouraging therapeutic potential for the treatment of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. This opens the way to a modality for anti-Candida protection at mucosal level.
ISSN:1369-3786
1460-2709
DOI:10.1093/mmy/myx139