Chitin, Chitinase Responses, and Invasive Fungal Infections

Figure 1

Fungal cell wall components. The fungal cell wall contains a cell membrane with various membrane proteins, a protective layer of chitin (yellow) as well as glucans (mostly beta), and mannoproteins on its surface. Different fungal cell walls contain different glucans. For example, the cell wall of A. fumigatus contains 𝛽-1,3- and 𝛽-1,4-glucan, and 𝛼-1,3-glucan [30], while C. albicans contains 𝛽-1,3- and 𝛽-1,6-glucan [44].