IL-1 pathway may stop Candida fungus from turning fatal in weakened immunity
A study from King's College London has identified the IL-1 immune pathway as a critical defense mechanism against Candida albicans, a fungus that can cause fatal infections in immunocompromised patients. This discovery could lead to new diagnostic tests and therapeutic targets for high-risk individuals.
Why it matters
Fungal infections are a major cause of mortality in patients with weakened immune systems; identifying this pathway offers a potential path to life-saving treatments.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain An immune pathway has been discovered that prevents a normally harmless fungus from developing into a fatal infection. The King's College London study, published in Nature Microbiology , provides the first potential clue as to why only certain patients with weakened immune systems, including those undergoing chemotherapy or living with HIV, are at risk of life-threatening Candida albicans infections.
Candida albicans is a fungus that normally lives harmlessly in areas such as the mouth and gut but can sometimes spread through the body and cause fatal disease.
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