Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified the mechanisms behind inflammasome activation driven by infection with the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal infection, especially with A. fumigatus, is a leading cause of infection-associated deaths in people with compromised immune systems. The work provides clues to a potential therapeutic approach for treating infectious and inflammatory disorders. The findings were published online today in Nature.
“Inflammasomes are important sentinels of an organism’s innate immune defense system,” said corresponding author and founding member of the inflammasome field Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, Ph.D., of the St. Jude Immunology department. “Our prior work showed that fungal pathogens activate the inflammasome, but the exact mechanism of action for inflammasome engagement was unknown.”
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