Combination Adjuvants Enhance Recombinant Protein Vaccine Protection against Fungal Infection
Marcel Wüthrich, Hannah E. Dobson, Cleison Ledesma Taira, Uju Joy Okaa, Lucas dos Santos Dias, Marcos Isidoro‐Ayza, Nikolai Petrovsky, Bruce S. Klein
Abstract
Fungal disease remains a challenging clinical and public health problem. Despite medical advances, invasive fungal infections have skyrocketed over the last decade and pose a mounting health threat in immunocompetent and -deficient hosts, with worldwide mortality rates ranking 7th, even ahead of tuberculosis. The development of safe, effective vaccines remains a major hurdle for fungi. Critical barriers to progress include the lack of defined fungal antigens and suitable adjuvants. Our research is significant in identifying adjuvant combinations that elicit optimal vaccine-induced protection when formulated with a recombinant protective antigen and uncovering the mechanistic bases of the underlaying vaccine protection, which will foster the strategic development of antifungal vaccines.