Monogenetic causes of fungal disease: recent developments

Abstract

Human fungal diseases are a significant global health problem affecting both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. Although patients with single-gene inborn errors account for only a small part of patients developing fungal infections, studies of these diseases significantly promoted our understanding of the general mechanisms involved in human antifungal immunity. Recently, substantial breakthroughs in monogenetic causes of fungal infections have been made, which have furthered our knowledge of both new genes of known infections and new phenotypes of reported genes. This review describes recent insights into the human monogenetic errors that cause fungal susceptibility alongside novel genes, phenotypes, and mechanisms of both innate and adaptive immunity. We hope that this review raises awareness of the recently identified monogenetic causes of fungal diseases to facilitate the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.