Virulence (Dec 2022)

Pathogenicity & virulence of Histoplasma capsulatum - A multifaceted organism adapted to intracellular environments

  • Alessandro F. Valdez,
  • Daniel Zamith Miranda,
  • Allan Jefferson Guimarães,
  • Leonardo Nimrichter,
  • Joshua D. Nosanchuk

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/21505594.2022.2137987
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1900 – 1919

Abstract

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Histoplasmosis is a systemic mycosis caused by the thermally dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. Although healthy individuals can develop histoplasmosis, the disease is particularly life-threatening in immunocompromised patients, with a wide range of clinical manifestations depending on the inoculum and virulence of the infecting strain. In this review, we discuss the established virulence factors and pathogenesis traits that make H. capsulatum highly adapted to a wide variety of hosts, including mammals. Understanding and integrating these mechanisms is a key step toward devising new preventative and therapeutic interventions.

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