Malassezia Species and Immunity: Host-Pathogen Interactions

Abstract

Core Messages: Malassezia species stimulate both the cellular and humoral immune responses in healthy humans and also in patients with Malassezia-associated diseases. The cellular immune responses to Malassezia yeasts often appear to be heightened in patients with disease. It has also become clear that Malassezia has two phenotypes - one, which is immuno-stimulatory and may occur in disease states, and the second, which is immunosuppressive and may occur during commensal carriage. Although there are fewer studies related to dogs when compared with humans, dogs also develop a spectrum of humoral and cellular immune responses to their commensal yeast, Malassezia pachydermatis, both in health and in disease. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.