Sphingolipid-mediated fungal pathogenesis

With the increasing number of immunodeficient subjects and the increase of the lifespan of these subjects due to the advance in medicine there has been a concomitant rise in the number of cases of life-threatening fungal infections. Current antifungal treatments are often inadequate due to collateral effects and to drug resistance. Dr. Del Poeta’s research team studies sphingolipid metabolism and signaling in fungal cells to identifying new microbial specific enzymes/molecules essential to cause infection.

 The sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway generates bioactive molecules crucial for the regulation of mammalian and fungal physiological and pathobiological processes. We use biochemistry, molecular biology, genetic, cell biology, immunology, pathology and bioinformatics approaches, in order to address questions on how sphingolipids regulate signaling and pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans, an important fungal pathogen that causes life-threatening infections in humans. Thus, our goals are to understanding the patho-physiology of this fungus and to provide insights into regulatory mechanisms controlling the fungal sphingolipid metabolism during the onset and progression of the fungal disease. Since differences between fungal and human sphingolipids exist, these studies may have important implications for the development of novel and more effective antifungal therapeutic strategies.