Scientists develop fungus-fighting vaccine

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Public release date: 5-Sep-2005

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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/joem-sdf082305.php

Contact: Nickey Henry

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Journal of Experimental Medicine

Scientists develop fungus-fighting vaccine

A group of scientists in Italy have developed a vaccine with the

potential to protect against fungal pathogens that commonly infect

humans, according to a study by Torosantucci and colleagues in the

September 5 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Although

these fungi pose little threat to people with healthy immune

systems, they can cause fatal infections in those whose immune

systems have been weakened by cancer treatments or post-transplant

immunosuppressive therapies. No anti-fungal vaccines are currently

available.

The new vaccine was made of a sugar-like molecule called beta-glucan

that is found on the cell wall of the fungus and that the fungus

needs to grow and survive. To induce a robust immune response to the

vaccine, the group attached the relatively innocuous beta-glucan to

a protein called diptheria toxin that is known to stimulate the

immune system and has been used in other human vaccines.

The vaccine protected rodents from fatal fungal infections by

triggering the production of anti-beta-glucan antibodies. These

antibodies stuck to the invading fungal cell wall and prevented the

fungus from growing. The authors now plan to test the vaccine in

humans and hope the results are equally promising.

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tigerpaw2c <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

Scientists develop fungus-fighting vaccine

Being new to this mold problem I don't understand some connections to fungus. I

have a yeast-overgrowth but so does most people with CFS. I know mold is a

fungus but I don't know if fungus treatments are also good for mold? Are you

saying that treatments for candidas is also good for mold?

Bob

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