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Cited by 248Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsFungal Infections and StudiesNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Different Brain Regions are Infected with Fungi in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Pisa, Diana, Alonso, Ruth, Rábano, Alberto, Rodal, Izaskun, Carrasco, Luis·2015·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/srep15015PMC PMC4606562
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Abstract

The possibility that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has a microbial aetiology has been proposed by several researchers. Here, we provide evidence that tissue from the central nervous system (CNS) of AD patients contain fungal cells and hyphae. Fungal material can be detected both intra- and extracellularly using specific antibodies against several fungi. Different brain regions including external frontal cortex, cerebellar hemisphere, entorhinal cortex/hippocampus and choroid plexus contain fungal material, which is absent in brain tissue from control individuals. Analysis of brain sections from ten additional AD patients reveals that all are infected with fungi. Fungal infection is also observed in blood vessels, which may explain the vascular pathology frequently detected in AD patients. Sequencing of fungal DNA extracted from frozen CNS samples identifies several fungal species. Collectively, our findings provide compelling evidence for the existence of fungal infection in the CNS from AD patients, but not in control individuals.

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  • Microbial sequence analyses revealed that bacterial colonization often accompanies fungal infections in the human brain; here, the normal variety of species and their abundance under normal conditions contrast with the higher burden noted in AD brains.

    “Additionally, microbial sequence analyses revealed that bacterial colonization often accompanies fungal infections in the human brain; here, the normal variety of species and their abundance under normal conditions contrast with the higher burden noted in AD brains [134,135].”

    From What would it take to prove that a chronic infection is a causal agent in Alzheimer’s disease? (2025) · cites this paper as [135]

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Authors
Pisa, D., Alonso, R., Rábano, A., Rodal, I., & Carrasco, L.
Affiliations
  • Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (ES)
  • Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES)
Corresponding author
Carrasco, Luis
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-10-15
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
15015-15015
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/srep15015
PMC
PMC4606562
OpenAlex
W2177839940
Cited by
248
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 2
FWCI
19.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion)
  • Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya) (publishedVersion)
  • Biblos-e Archivo (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Hispana (submittedVersion)
Funders
Fundación Ramón Areces
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Fungal Infections and Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, fungal infection, central nervous system, fungal hyphae, fungal DNA sequencing, choroid plexus, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, cerebellum, frontal cortex, vascular pathology, microbial aetiology
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Female, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Male, Central Nervous System Fungal Infections, Hyphae, Candida glabrata

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