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The fact that PLB and SAPs are important virulence factors in fungal pathogenicity generates the possibility that these proteins can be used as therapeutic and/or diagnostic targets.

A. Phospholipases PLB was shown to be a virulence factor in C. albicans using animal models of hematogenously disseminated [52] and gastrointestinal candidiasis [85]. This hydrolytic enzyme was detected in other pathogenic fungi including C. neoformans. A. fumigatus. and A. jlavus. The finding that different clinically important fungi secrete phospholipases suggests that those enzymes may represent a common theme utilized by pathogenic fungi as a universal virulence factor [87]. Phospholipase secretion across various fungal genera increases their potential of being an effective therapeutic target, possibly leading to a number of drug development strategies and discovery of novel antifungals. These approaches may include development of vaccines and identification of phospholipase inhibitors.