You shall not pass: how complement C5 mediated antifungal immunity blocks systemic candidiasis and preserves renal tissue barriers

ABSTRACT

The rising prevalence of fungal infections is a significant and growing public health threat, and this risk is further underscored by our incomplete understanding of why organs like the kidney are so susceptible to systemic candidiasis. To combat the high mortality of such infections, we urgently need to advance our understanding of fungal pathogenesis and how it articulates with human immune response. Now, a recent landmark study has illuminated a crucial role of the complement system in the response to candidiasis and determined the stepwise local response of phagocytes within the kidney during infection. These fundamental discoveries provide crucial insights that can be leveraged to improve the care and outcome for patients with fungal infections.

KEYWORDS:

• Candidiasis
• complement
• kidney
• phagocytes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by a 2023 College of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the Glynn Family Honors Program to D.G.C., funds from the College of Science to R.A.W., and the family of Elizabeth and Michael Gallagher for their generous support of renal stem cell research.