Journal of Antivirals & Antiretrovirals
Open Access

Immunology of the emerging human fungal pathogen Pseudallescheriaboydii

4^th World Congress on Virology

October 06-08, 2014 Hilton San Antonio Airport, TX, USA

Fatemah

Accepted Abstracts: J Antivir Antiretrovir

Abstract :

The dramatic increase of severely immunocompromised patients in the last 30 years coincides with a growing number of reported fungal infectionsespecially human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), bone marrow and solid organ transplantation and those receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy for neoplastic diseases. Novel fungal pathogens emerging in recent years such as Scedosporium spp.have caused morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. At present, very little is known about the interaction of emerging human pathogenic fungi such as Pseudallescheriaboydii(= Petriellidiumboydii (Shear) Malloch 1970) and cells of the immune system. Due to lack of highly accurate diagnostic techniques for tracking activity of fungal biomass within the host innate immune cells, previously developed specific MAbsraised to P. boydii. would allow the detection of circulating antigens and quantification.The interactions of clinical and environmental strains of P. boydiiwith alveolar macrophages, front-line effecter cells of innate immunity were examined by developed immunoassays that would allow the visualisation and quantification of the pathogen during the process of macrophage phagocyctosis and quantification of the effects of antifungal drug treatments on hyphal activity.