With biochemical analysis, state-of-the-art imaging technology and computer simulations, research led by scientists at Michigan State University has shown how fungi remodel their cell walls to thwart antifungal drugs. Credit: Figure adapted from Dickwella Widange et al. Nat. Commun.(2024).
Every year, life-threating invasive fungal infections afflict more than 2 million individuals globally. Mortality rates for these infections are high, even when patients receive treatment.
Aspergillus fumigatus, the most frequent cause of invasive fungal infection in people with suppressed immune systems, is responsible for approximately 100,000 deaths annually around the world. Poor treatment outcomes result from therapeutic failures and the fungi’s resistance to existing drugs.
A new multi-institutional study led by researchers at Michigan State University has characterized how fungi adapt to restructure their cell walls, effectively thwarting current antifungal medications. This new information opens opportunities to devise more effective use of antifungal drugs. The results were published July 31 in the journal Nature Communications.
“In order to improve the use of and develop new antifungal drugs, we need to understand the target,” said Tuo Wang, the inaugural Carl H. Brubaker Jr. Endowed Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Michigan State University and lead author on the study. “This is not done easily, because the cell wall is very complex.”
The study was also selected to be featured among the journal’s Editors’ Highlights as one of the 50 best papers Nature Communications has published recently in the area of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
With this work, Wang and his team believe they have laid the foundation for pharmaceutical companies to adapt or combine existing antifungal drugs to help overcome their previous limitations.
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