Fungus found evolving resistance to drug meant for humans
Researchers have identified that the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii is evolving resistance to mycophenolic acid, an immunosuppressive drug used in transplant patients. The study suggests that the fungus developed similar mutations independently across different global populations.
Why it matters
This discovery highlights the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, even in drugs not specifically designed to target the pathogen.
A fungus that can cause severe pneumonia in people with weaker or weakened immune systems appears to have become resistant to a drug that never intended to kill it, according to the findings of a study by researchers from around the world published in Science Translational Medicine .
The study focused on mycophenolic acid (MPA), an immunosuppressive drug used with people who have received solid-organ transplants. MPA helps keep the immune system from rejecting the organ — but it was also found to affect Pneumocystis jirovecii fungi.
The team analysed 163 P. jirovecii samples from China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and the U.S., of which 96 came from recipients of transplanted organs, most of whom were also involved in pneumocystis pneumonia outbreaks from 2005 to 2019. The remaining samples were controls.
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