CMCD: Chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis disease

Abstract

Chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) is an infectious phenotype which is characterized by recurrent or persistent infections affecting the nails, skin, and oral and genital mucosae caused by Candida species. Th17 cells produce interleukin-17 (IL-17) and play an important role in host mucosal immunity to Candida. Recent studies revealed that an impairment of IL-17 immunity underlies development of CMC. CMC disease (CMCD) is a primary immunodeficiency disease which is defined as CMC in patients in the absence of other prominent clinical signs. However, this definition is not strict. Thus, CMCD is currently used to refer to patients presenting with CMC as the main clinical phenotype. As well as CMCD, CMC is a major infectious phenotype in syndromic CMC. However, patients with syndromic CMC also present other clinical and infectious manifestations in addition to CMC. The genetic defects which affect development and/or proliferation of Th17 cells have been identified in patients with syndromic CMC. In contrast, germline mutations in the genes which directly involved in IL-17 signaling have been identified in patients with CMCD. Here, we review current knowledge of IL-17-signaling defects and the genetic etiologies of CMCD and syndromic CMC.