Tasting the fungal cell wall.

The search for common host mechanisms that recognize human fungal pathogens as non-self has led to an increased interest in cell wall polysaccharides since they are absent from mammals and at least for some of them, common to all fungal species. Even though the receptors recognizing mannans and beta-1,3-glucans have been extensively studied to date, the epitope of the polysaccharide ligand is often not well defined. In addition, receptors recognizing other cell wall major components such as chitin, alpha-1,3-glucan or galactose polymers remain to be identified. Moreover, the fungal adhesins playing a role in adhesion to host have been only explored in yeasts. Eventhough progresses have been made in the last 10 years, a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between the host membrane receptors and the fungal cell wall components is still lacking.