How a Fungus Outmaneuvers a Copper Attack

Inhaled fungal spores can lead to fatal infections in people with compromised immune systems, and few antifungal drugs are effective. Researchers have discovered two mechanisms used by lethal strains of the fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, to disarm the immune response in the lungs of mice. When defense cells known as macrophages encounter C. neoformans, they engulf the pathogen and pump it full of copper. In response, the fungus creates a protein shield, protecting it from the toxic copper environment. C. neoformans then shuts down the host’s ability to concentrate copper in macrophages. Scientists are now studying how antifungals could thwart these detoxification systems.
Source: NIGMS Biomedical Beat - Category: Research Source Type: news