Fungal diseases are tough to treat. Antifungal drugs are few and far between and research suggests that fungal infections will only grow more common as our climate continues to change. Development of new and more effective antifungal medications will improve outcomes for patients with fungal infections. However, new research sheds light on how fungi restructure their cell walls to increase their resistance to antifungals compounds.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, a team led by researchers at Michigan State University uncovered the method by which some fungi restructure their cell walls to resist echinocandins, a relatively new type of antifungal drug. The paper was featured in the Editor’s Highlights of Nature Communications as one of the top 50 recent papers on the subject of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
As a response to exposure to echinocandins, Aspergillus fumigatus alters its cell wall to reduce the concentration of b-glucans, which the drug targets. By replacing beta-glucans with related compounds, the fungus can protect itself while keeping its cell wall strong but pliable.
For more details, read the full paper in Nature Communications. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50799-8