Vaccines are hailed as one of the greatest achievements of medicine; however, to date, no vaccines have been licensed to prevent or control human fungal infections . This was a severe concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, as COVID-19 patients with co-morbidities such as uncontrolled diabetes were more likely to develop lethal fungal infections when using steroids. Researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated the role of a specific type of T cell, namely GM-CSF+ Tc17 cells [granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor] , that is necessary for the body to acquire immunity against fungal pathogens without causing overt pathology.
The study was conducted on mice that were given an experimental fungal vaccine and then exposed to a virulent fungal pathogen to cause lethal pulmonary infection. The role of GM-CSF+ Tc17 cells in mediating vaccine immunity was observed. They…
