The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) awarded funding to Dr Becky Hall (School of Biosciences) for her research project ‘Mooning the immune system: Elucidating the role of the moonlighting protein Gpd2 in the pathogenicity of Candida albicans’.
One of the most common yeast infections affecting women’s health is genital thrush, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Each year, 75% of women will experience an episode of genital thrush, with up to 15% of these women going on to develop recurrent infection which is defined as three or more episodes within a 12-month period. Recent estimates suggest that there are over 138 million cases of recurrent infection each year.
“Women with high oestrogen levels as a result of pregnancy, use of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy are more prone to the development of genital thrush. Although not lethal, these infections are painful, can lead to complications during pregnancy, and have a significant effect on the wellbeing of women,” says Dr Hall, “Therefore, understanding why women with higher oestrogen levels are at an increased risk of developing an infection is paramount.”
Dr Hall’s research team have recently shown that elevated oestrogen levels prevent the immune system from eradicating the pathogen leading to infection. This inability to recognise the pathogen is due to a change in the expression of a single protein of the surface of the fungus. Removing this single yeast protein restores the ability of the immune system to detect and kill the fungal pathogen (full story available here). Supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and in collaboration with Professor Carol Munro and Dr Donna MacCallum from the University of Aberdeen, Dr Hall and her team will now investigate how the level of this protein is increased by the presence of oestrogen, how the protein gets to the yeast cell surface, and the role this protein plays in infection. Addressing these important questions will identify novel antifungal targets to as a way to either prevent or treat infections and will provide critical information to improve women’s health and wellbeing.