AUIN

Latin America is one of the regions most affected by systemic mycosis in the world, Brazil is the country with the largest number of endemic areas for this disease. It affects mainly male rural workers, since the work with soil and plantations in these areas is an occupational factor predisposing to the acquisition of the disease. Among the main symptoms is the development of an asymptomatic infection, with lesions in the lungs and lymphonodes, and dissemination to other organs and tissues. The present technology, using the Phage Display technique, identified four peptides capable of inhibiting the adhesion of Paracoccidioides spp. thus preventing infection by this fungus and reducing cases of systemic mycosis.

Currently the treatment of systemic mycosis is long-term and performed by drugs association. The present technology is able to prevent the interaction between host Paracoccidioides, avoiding infection and contraction of the disease, besides being able to be used as a vaccine in the future and in the association with antifungal drugs already known for the treatment of the patients.