Synthetic sugar offers new route against Candida auris

Synthetic sugar molecule points to possible future vaccine and rapid test for drug-resistant hospital fungus

An international team including Exeter researchers has identified a synthetic sugar structure that generated protective immune responses against Candida auris in preclinical work and supported a prototype rapid test.

Scientific illustration representing Candida auris fungal cells Image: University of ExeterOriginal source

Need something explained?Tap a highlighted word, phrase or concept, or select any part of the article and choose Explain this.

have identified a synthetic sugar molecule that could become the basis of future vaccines, antibodies and rapid tests against the drug-resistant hospital fungus Candida auris.

The international team, which includes the University of Exeter's MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, recreated a specific sugar structure found on the fungus's surface. In animal models, a vaccine candidate built around that structure triggered a targeted immune response and reduced fungal burden.

The researchers also developed protective antibodies and used one of them in a prototype lateral-flow test capable of detecting Candida species.

All of this remains preclinical. The vaccine and antibodies have so far been tested in animals and the rapid test is still a prototype. What the work provides is a single, precisely defined target that researchers can now pursue across , and .