The team found new mechanisms in the liver to help prevent invasive fungal infections

A liver macrophage called Kupffer (KC) captures potentially deadly fungi in the blood and then spreads to target organs such as the brain or kidneys, according to a recent study published in Nature Communications by Professor Shi Meiqing and his teamthis mechanism not only explains why people with liver disease are more likely to be infected with fungi, but also provides treatment options for the prevention of fungal and invasive fungal infections in the future, which can save 1.5 million people worldwide from dying each yearDOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12381-5
fungal infections affect 1.2 billion people worldwide each yearIn this paper, Shi Meiqing specializes in two fungi, the new cryptococcal bacteria and white candidaThese two fungi, if spread to their target organs (hidden cocci - brain and candida-kidneys), are difficult to treat once infectedFor example, cryptococcal is the main cause of meningitisMore than 1 million people are infected with meningitis each year, 60 per cent of whom die from the disease"hidden bacteria and candida are actually ubiquitous fungi, " Shi said"People with a healthy immune system can usually control fungi after infection, but once they enter the bloodstream, any one of these fungi can enter the target organ and be fatalCryptococcal bacteria are particularly problematic for patients with compromised immune systems, such as HIV or organ transplantsPeople with liver disease are also more susceptible to cryptococcal infections, but no one has known why"
KCs or hepatophages are responsible for catching free fungi in the blood to prevent further spread, which helps to explain this phenomenon, because if the liver is damaged in patients with liver disease, this explanation is justified, and this protective mechanism is also impaired.""This finding is interesting and unusual because no one cares about the liver in the field of fungal infections, " Shi saidResearchers tend to study target organs, such as the brain or kidneysThe liver is not the target organ, but it tries to remove fungi from the blood Because the human body is interconnected, this paper provides a more complete systematic method of how fungi interact in the human body take into account this systemic approach, the findings of this mechanism are not only meaningful for patients with liver disease, but can also be targeted to prevent fungal transmission and treat invasive fungal infections to treat overall fungal infections references: 1 s research team discovers new mechanism in the liver t out helps prevent prevent foofl fungal infections 2 s.