CARD9 and candidiasis: Intriguingly, the loss of the GM-CSF pathway is associated with susceptibility to another neurotropic infection (i.e., nocardiosis [278,279]), and the selective loss of GM-CSF response by PBMC to C. albicans may also contribute to candidal invasion of the CNS through CARD9 deficiency [51,52] (see “Invasive Candidiasis” above), suggesting a role for GM-CSF in systemic protection against CNS infection.