Exhausted T cell phenotypes in disseminated coccidioidomycosis.

ABSTRACT: Coccidioidomycosis presents clinically as a spectrum ranging from self-limiting Uncomplicated Valley Fever (UVF) in most cases to life-threatening Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis (DCM) in rare individuals. A few patterns of immunologic deficits allowing for dissemination have been identified, though the specific defects in most individuals with DCM remain undefined. We hypothesized that chronic antigen exposure in DCM engenders a state of T cell exhaustion. From a cohort of over 300 subjects with confirmed diagnoses of coccidioidomycosis, circulating T cell phenotypes were characterized via flow cytometry and Coccidioides-specific T cell responses were measured using the Activation-Induced Marker (AIM) assay. Male sex was significantly associated with disseminated disease (odds rati

SUBMITTER: Whitehill GD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12889757 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature