New immunotherapeutic strategies to control vaginal candidiasis

The widespread occurrence of mucosal infections caused by Candida, in particular recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis among fertile-age women, together with the paucity of safe candidacidal antimycotics, have prompted a great number of investigations into the immunotherapy of candidal vaginitis. This article will discuss three different experimental approaches demonstrated to be potentially transferable to human disease: (1) the use of antibodies against well-defined cell-surface adhesins or enzymes; (2) the generation of yeast killer-toxin-like candidacidal anti-idiotypic antibodies and their engineered molecular derivatives (e.g. single chains, peptides); and (3) the generation of therapeutic vaccines and immunomodulators.