Mononuclear phagocyte-mediated antifungal immunity: the role of chemotactic receptors and ligands

Over the past two decades, fungal infections have emerged as significant causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with hematological malignancies, hematopoietic stem cell or solid organ transplantation and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Besides neutrophils and CD4⁺ T lymphocytes, which have long been known to play an indispensable role in promoting protective antifungal immunity, mononuclear phagocytes are now being increasingly recognized as critical mediators of host defense against fungi. Thus, a recent surge of research studies has focused on understanding the mechanisms by which resident and recruited monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells accumulate and become activated at the sites of fungal infection. Herein, we critically review how a variety of G-protein coupled chemoattractant receptors and their ligands mediate mononuclear phagocyte recruitment and effector function during infection by the most common human fungal pathogens.