By: Express News ServicePune | September 19, 2025 12:53 PM IST 3 min readWhile many people carry the yeast, Candida albicans, harmlessly in the mouth and gut, in vulnerable patients, such as those with weakened immunity, it can become invasive and deadly. (File Photo)While Fungal Disease Awareness Week was observed from September 15 to 19 to highlight growing concern over the rise in fungal infections across the world, and in India, researchers at the Indian Council of Medical Research have developed novel therapeutic options in the ongoing battle against these dangerous pathogens. In a study published in the peer-reviewed journal ‘Cell Communication and Signaling’ in August, the team has uncovered hidden metabolic weak points in Candida albicans that cause one of the most severe infections called candidiasis.The findings on the vulnerabilities could serve as fresh targets for life-saving therapies, says Professor Susan Idicula-Thomas’s team at ICMR–National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health, Mumbai.While many people carry the yeast, Candida, harmlessly in the mouth and gut, in vulnerable patients, such as those with weakened immunity, it can become invasive and deadly.“This breakthrough comes at a crucial time when drug-resistant strains of Candida are spreading, while very few new antifungal drugs are being developed. Identifying novel targets for treatment is not just an academic exercise. It could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of patients each year,” Dr Thomas, the principal investigator of the study, said.Citing studies, Dr Thomas said that systemic candidiasis remains one of the most fatal opportunistic infections, with death rates climbing as high as 63.6% in severe cases.The team combined powerful computer models with lab experiments to mimic how Candida albicans behaves during infection. This approach revealed weaknesses in the fungus’s metabolism that pointed to arginine metabolism as a key driver of its disease-causing ability.Researchers identified ALT1 (alanine transaminase), a critical enzyme that functions as a metabolic “bottleneck” for the pathogen’s survival and virulence.Story continues below this adWhen the gene for ALT1 was deleted, Candida’s ability to cause infection subsided—both in laboratory cultures and in mouse studies, making it a promising new target for antifungal therapies.The study was done in collaboration with Prof Karthik Raman from the Centre for Integrative Biology and Systems Medicine (IBSE) at Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, IIT Madras, and driven by their respective PhD students, Shuvechha and Indumathi.The annual incidence of invasive candidiasis in India is ∼4,70,000 or 34/100,000 population. Globally, about 15,65,000 people have a Candida bloodstream infection or invasive candidiasis each year, with 9,95,000 deaths.“Newer avenues for antifungal therapeutics have been opened by this discovery, and the true strength of the work is reflected in the fact that the approach can be scaled up for other areas of biomedical research in infectious diseases. Collaboration with industrial partners will be required so that the findings can be taken forward. At the same time, it is important to recognise that this research is still in its nascent stage and will require further studies before it can be expanded into effective therapeutics,” Dr Thomas added.Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd