Transcriptome of Host–Dermatophyte Interactions Using Infection Models

Dermatophytes are able to invade keratinized structures such as skin, nails, and hair, causing superficial infections. However, the number of deep dermatophytoses has been increasing among immunodepressed and diabetic patients, as well as among individuals without immunodeficiency. Models for the study of superficial infection use culture medium containing protein substrates and fragments of human nails or keratinocyte/skin fragment cultures. On the other hand, new models should be explored for the study of deep infections, including monocyte/macrophage cultures. Large-scale gene expression techniques (transcriptome analysis) are a molecular approach to investigate the mechanisms involved in the host–fungus interactions and to highlight new antifungal targets. Furthermore, studies of the metabolome, proteome, and fungal and human microRNAs should be performed to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying pathogenesis and the host or fungal response.