One of the prestigious science journals, Infection and Immunity (IAI), has accepted an article by Prof Carolina Pohl-Albertyn. She is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS) and holds the NRF SARChI Research Chair in Pathogenic Yeasts. 

Infection and Immunity, an international journal published by the American Society for Microbiology, focuses on the interaction between various disease-causing microbes and their hosts and includes, among others, articles on infections caused by pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and parasites as well as the development of vaccines against nonviral pathogens. As stated by Prof Pohl-Albertyn, articles published in this journal are read by a wide international audience interested in infectious diseases and provide excellent exposure to research done at our university.

The article submitted is titled: ‘Competition for iron during polymicrobial infections may increase antifungal drug susceptibility – how will it impact treatment options?’ The article is expected to be published in March – according to Prof Pohl-Albertyn, this will be the first time she will be publishing in Infection and Immunity. 

She says her research is about increasing our knowledge so that we can better manage the drugs we currently have.

Prof Pohl-Albertyn says her article was in response to a recently published article regarding the impact of the interaction between two disease-causing microorganisms (pathogens), the yeast Candida albicans and the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. “The authors of this article found that the interaction between these two microbes may cause increased susceptibility of the yeast to a common antifungal drug, fluconazole,” she explains. 

Her research brought a fresh perspective to these findings. “My article highlighted the fact that this is a novel paradigm, as most of these yeast-bacterial interactions that have been studied so far show the opposite trend, i.e., that they cause a reduction in susceptibility to antimicrobial drugs. I also explained this apparent discrepancy by indicating that the interaction between Candida albicans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa is very complex, with factors that may influence it. This highlights the fact that further research on these interactions, especially in the host, are crucial,” she adds. 

Regarding the impact of this research on the medical field, Prof Pohl-Albertyn elucidates that many infections are polymicrobial (i.e., consisting of more than one type of organism). “However, most infections have not been treated as such in clinical settings, and it is only in recent years that awareness of this and the potential effect of interactions between different pathogens has increased. It is now appreciated that these interactions may influence disease severity as well as the outcome of the infection. What is still lacking, is extensive knowledge regarding the impact of these polymicrobial infections on treatment options and susceptibility of the microbes to antibiotics and antifungal drugs. This is especially important in the era of increasing drug resistance,” she says. 

Prof Pohl-Albertyn states that since a very limited number of antifungal drugs are available for use in humans, the correct use and stewardship of these drugs is very important. “As one can imagine, the ability of drugs to kill infecting microbes is crucial to the patient receiving treatment, but knowledge regarding the correct dosage of antifungal drugs is vital, as these drugs often have side effects at high concentration or can lead to the development of drug resistance when used for prolonged periods.”