Almost a quarter of a million pounds has been awarded to scientists in Aberdeen involved in pioneering research that could lead to the development of drugs to tackle a potentially deadly but common fungal condition.
Candida albicans is a yeast which lives in our intestines and other parts of the body including the skin. It is usually kept in check by our immune system, but it can also grow and cause problems.
More than half of all women will get a C. albicans infection called thrush at some point in their lives but they are not at any serious risk of a life threatening infection since this type of fungal infection is easily treated.
However, there is another group of people who can contract a type of Candida and effective drug treatment is more difficult in these patients.
People with weakened immune systems - such as cancer patients and those who have had bone marrow transplants - are at risk of developing a Candida infection, which is now the fifth or sixth most common cause of bloodstream infections in the UK .
The University of Aberdeen is internationally acclaimed for the research it is doing into Candida – sometimes known as the “disease of the diseased” - and other fungal conditions.
Professor Neil Gow, a microbiologist from the University's School of Medical Sciences, and one of the principal investigators of the Aberdeen Fungal Group, said: “If you take patients who have had a bone marrow transplant, around a quarter or a third will get a Candida infection.
“Of those 40% will die from the Candida even though doctors know the patient has it. That is because the drugs we have to treat the condition are inadequate. The drugs currently available just stop the fungus from growing, they do not easily eradicate it.”
Professor Gow and his team have been awarded £243,000 by the British Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to continue their investigations into the problem.
“We really wish we had a drug like penicillin. The thing about penicillin is that if you treat a sensitive bacterium with it, there is very little that the bug can do about it. However fungi are a bit more sophisticated than bacteria, “ said Professor Gow.
“Fungi has a cell wall made of chitin which is the strongest material known on the planet – weight for weight, it is stronger than steel. However, fungi have chitin and a second scaffold component called beta-glucan in their wall for protection. If chitin is damaged, there then the fungus makes more beta-glucan as a failsafe mechanism. If beta-glucan is damaged then chitin compensates and protects the fungus.”
Professor Gow, along with Dr Carol Munro, has been studying chitin formation in fungi for many years. His team are trying to devise ways of inhibiting the failsafe mechanism which in turn would stop the fungal cell from protecting itself.
Professor Gow added: “If we can do that it could lead to the development of more effective drugs for Candida infections which could save many lives.”