In a study published this month in Nature Chemical Biology, a group of researchers showed how glycans keep a fungus called Candida albicans (C. albicans) from becoming problematic.
from becoming problematic. The line between friend and foe is nebulously drawn in the case of. The fungus is polymorphic, meaning it can take on different shapes: a rounded, yeast-like structure can turn into a filamented, thread-like shape associated with virulence. While the fungus can contribute to immunity, it can also lead to yeast infections or, even more seriously, a systemic infection of the bloodstream.
At the same time, they tested this effect in lab mice. Ribbeck’s team made small puncture wounds on the backs of the mice, then infected them withand treated them topically with purified mucus. This significantly reduced the number of viable fungal colonies. The mucus didn’t directly kill the fungi, but the scientists hypothesized that by decreasing its virulence, it allowed the immune system to swoop in and clear the microbes out of the wound.
Hevey says the final glycan product is akin to a bristle on a brush. When they added them to a plate of, the scientists found that certain O-glycans could stop the fungus from becoming virulent—all by themselves. These specific glycans, which fall under a category called core 1 and core 2 based on their unique molecular building blocks, could stop the fungi from filamenting and downregulate the expression of virulence-related genes.