Mucormycosis, a fungus infection caused by Mucorales, has a high mortality rates in those with weakened immune systems and those who have suffered severe trauma, such as burns, blast injuries, or natural disaster victims.
California [US], March 22 (ANI): Mucormycosis, a fungus infection caused by Mucorales, has a high mortality rates in those with weakened immune systems and those who have suffered severe trauma, such as burns, blast injuries, or natural disaster victims.
The condition
caused significant infection among COVID-19 patients treated with high doses of
corticosteroids, with mortality rates approaching 60 per cent.
In the United
States, there are approximately 4,000 cases per year with a rate of 200,000 in
Southeast Asia where the disease is endemic to India. While vaccines and
immunotherapies are available for viruses and bacteria, effective antifungal
immunotherapies for mucormycosis, specifically, are lacking.
Ashraf
Ibrahim, PhD, an investigator at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical
Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for more than 33 years, and Assistant
Research Scientist, Yiyou Gu, PhD, at TLI for more than eight years, have been
conducting research using monoclonal antibodies to address this gap.
Ibrahim's
research focuses on advancing the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms
and virulence factors of fungal and bacterial infections, and on translating
this knowledge into novel immunotherapeutic strategies to combat infectious
diseases.
Their paper,
"A humanized antibody against mucormycosis targets angioinvasion and
augments the host immune response," was recently accepted and published in
the Science Translational Medicine journal. In it, they discuss the use of
monoclonal antibodies to target a key fungal cell surface protein, CotH, which
enables the fungus to invade human cells and cause mucormycosis. Their findings
will increase the efficiency of the current treatment options and thus will
improve the outcome of treatment of lethal mucormycosis.
"Mucormycosis
is a devastating disease that usually occurs in patients who suffer from
weakened immune system such as patients with poorly controlled diabetes, cancer
patients undergoing chemotherapy, and transplant patients," said Ibrahim,
adding that the disease has had a steady increase over the last four decades
due to an increase in people with diabetes and cancer, as well as advancement
in transplant procedures.
The infection
is aggressive and considered a medical emergency that needs immediate
attention, often with disfiguring surgery to remove infected tissues. The
damage to blood vessels is concerning because it's how antifungal drug therapy
is delivered to the infection site. "Our humanized monoclonal antibody
allows antifungal drug therapy to reach to infected tissues because it prevents
fungal cells from damaging human cells and blood vessels," Ibrahim said.
As a result,
Ibrahim and Gu developed an antibody called VX-01, a humanized antibody that
has proven more effective at binding to the fungus compared to the original
antibody. Although both protect from infection, the humanized antibody reduces
immunogenicity and enhances therapeutic effect when used in humans, a major
translational step.
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