Pathogenic Microbiology Commons^™

The Immune Modulation On Innate Immunity, From Pathogen Recognition To Fungal Clearance., Ko-Wei Liu

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The human lung is not sterile but a complex environment with various microorganisms. Besides commensals in the lung, hundreds to thousands of individual microbiomes enter the lung every day but without causing the symptom. Host innate immunity plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis of the lung environment and as the first defense line against pathogens. Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) is a saprophytic filamentous fungus that can cause human disease in immune compromised patients. However, with functional innate immunity, immune cells can quickly recognize pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) from A. fumigatus through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The activation of …