This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The immune system is a highly sophisticated defense network designed to protect against pathogens. A research team from the Universities of Würzburg and Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) has shown that certain components of the immune system can actually help the yeast Candida albicans evade immune attack.
Published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, the study reveals an unexpected downside of the immune response to this fungal pathogen. Candida albicans lives harmlessly on the skin and mucous membranes of many people. However, if the fungus enters the bloodstream, it can spread throughout the body and become particularly dangerous for people with weakened immune systems.
Among the most important immune cells involved in fighting such invaders are neutrophils. These white blood cells recognize pathogens, engulf them and take them up into the cell, where they can be destroyed. In the study, the researchers examined the interaction between these immune cells and fungal cells in a laboratory model.
To do so, they added Candida albicans to blood from healthy donors. "We noticed that a small proportion of the fungal cells consistently remained free in the blood, even though there were enough immune cells present to take them up," said study leader Oliver Kurzai. "The fact that components of the immune cells themselves contribute to this effect was a surprising observation for us." While searching for an explanation, the team detected proteins on the surface of the free fungal cells that had originally come from neutrophils.
This led them to extracellular vesicles: tiny membrane-bound particles released by cells into their surroundings. They can be thought of as small, free-floating "packages" that carry proteins and other molecules from the cells that produced them. Neutrophils also release such vesicles when they encounter pathogens.
The research team isolated these particles and showed that they attach to Candida albicans. In doing so, they transfer components of the immune cells onto the surface of the fungus. The result of this interaction is paradoxical: Although the vesicles contain numerous antimicrobial molecules, they did not inhibit fungal growth.
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