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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

A dangerous duo of common fungi prompts immune woes

Gut fungus helps to trigger the proliferation of T cells that are prevalent in inflamed lung tissue.
Scanning electron micrograph of the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, made up of fungal threads with fruiting bodies at the tip

People with lung inflammation linked to the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus (pictured) have high levels of immune cells that were stirred into action by one of the body’s resident fungi. Credit: Eye of Science/SPL

A single species of fungus that lives in the human gut affects the immune response to a wide range of fungal microorganisms — including airborne aspergillus spores, which can cause lung inflammation in vulnerable people.

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Nature 566, 428 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-00628-6

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