Via EurekAlert :
" Fungi that cause severe infections in those with compromised immune systems are resisting the action of the latest group of antifungal drugs. Uncovering their strategies for doing this will lead to more effective treatments, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of York.
Candida albicans is the most common hospital-acquired fungal infection and can cause illness by sticking to and colonizing plastic surfaces implanted in the body such as catheters, cardiac devices or prosthetic joints. From there the fungus can spread through the bloodstream to the major organs. While normally harmless to healthy individuals, C. albicans can cause fatal infections in immunocompromised people such as those suffering from cancer, trauma and organ transplantation.
Fungi such as C. albicans are covered in a sugar-rich outer layer (cell wall) that protects the fungus from the environment. The newest class of antifungal drugs, the echinocandins, targets the enzyme that makes one of the two key sugar polymers found in the cell wall, called beta-glucan. Scientists at the University of Aberdeen are investigating how C. albicans responds to echinocandins and have shown how the fungus is able to change the structure of its cell wall to render the drug ineffective."
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