Aspergillus fumigatus is a fungus found in the atmosphere which causes respiratory infections in humans. However, this pathogenic fungus (which causes disease) could well be the source of the new drug that will treat certain inflammatory diseases.
Researchers from the Institut Pasteur, in France, their Dutch colleagues from the University of Radboud, and their Italian colleagues from the University of Perugia, have in fact just identified the mechanism that would be at the origin of the effect. anti-inflammatory of this fungus.
One of the molecules of Aspergillus fumigatus, located in its wall, would have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Called GAG (short for galactosaminogalactan), the molecule is a polymer of sugars that inhibits the action of interleukin 1, another molecule responsible for activating the immune system in the event of an attack by a pathogen.
Fight against inflammatory diseases
The inflammatory reaction is the first response that occurs in the tissue, following an attack, such as, for example, an infection by a microbe, radiation or a burn. It is this so-called acute inflammation that can treat the burn or eliminate the microbe. It disappears in a few minutes or even a few days depending on the case.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the process goes awry: the inflammation becomes chronic, exaggerated and the body can no longer stop it. Each organ can be affected by this chronic inflammation: the digestive tract (Crohn’s disease), the skin (psoriasis), the nervous system (multiple sclerosis), the joints (rheumatoid arthritis).
Targeted treatments improve the daily lives of patients but fail to cure them.
Treat gout and rheumatoid arthritis
In an experimental model of colitis (an inflammation of the colon) in mice, researchers proved that administration of the GAG polysaccharide collected on the wall of the fungus resulted in healing of the inflammation. Consequently, they believe that the anti-inflammatory properties of this molecule could also, in time, be exploited to treat other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis.
