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Innate immunity and cellular adaptive immunity are considered the first lines of defense against fungal infections in humans. Most of the major opportunistic mycoses occur in individuals with defects in innate and/or cellular adaptive immunity. Morbidity and mortality rates associated with infections caused by fungal pathogens are high, and prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these infections remain somewhat difficult. Altered immune function is thought to cause an increased susceptibility to fungal infections in the host and determine the severity and characteristics of the infection. Non-specific cellular immunity mediated by macrophages, neutrophils, and NK lymphocytes provides efficient protection against fungal infections in healthy individuals. For this reason, the increase in systemic fungal infections is undoubtedly related to the increase in the number of patients with congenital or acquired immunodeficiencies. There is increasing clinical and experimental evidence that antigen-specific cellular immunity plays an important role in host protection against fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]