The Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex is a group of fungal pathogens with different phenotypic and genotypic diversity that cause disease in immunocompromised patients as well as in healthy individuals. The immune response resulting from the interaction between Cryptococcus and the host immune system is a key determinant of the disease outcome. The species C. neoformans causes the majority of human infections, and therefore almost all immunological studies focused on C. neoformans infections. Thus, this review presents current understanding on the role of adaptive immunity during C. neoformans infections both in humans and in animal models of disease.
Keywords: CD4; Cryptococcus; adaptive immunity; cytokines; dendritic cells; helper T cell type 1 (Th1); helper T cell type 17 (Th17); helper T cell type 2 (Th2); immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS).