Table 1.

Challenges associated with fungal vaccine development.

Challenges	Potential solutions
Population most at risk is immunosuppressed	Vaccinate prior to anticipated immunosuppression.
	Augment specific immune system responses less affected by immunosuppression.
	Transfer protective lymphocytes to patient.
	Improve adjuvants.
Diverse infection sites in the host	Utilize delivery systems or adjuvants that drive the immune response at multiple sites of infections.
Intraspecies and interspecies antigenic variation among fungi	Target multiple epitopes with multivalent vaccines.
Similarities between Fungi and Animalia kingdoms	Target structures existing only in fungi, such as the cell wall.
	Use protein antigens unique to fungi to minimize autoimmune responses.
Translation from animal models to humans	Test the candidate vaccine in multiple animal models.
	Perform ex vivo studies with human cells.
Formulation	Select a delivery system and/or adjuvants to optimize protective responses and safety.
Commercialization	Attract interest and investments from governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and biopharmaceutical companies.