The fungal pathogen Candida auris exposes chitin to trigger IFNγ and persist in hair follicles
Abstract
Candida auris is a multidrug-resistant fungus of major public health concern whose mechanisms for persistence on skin, a major risk factor for deadly outbreaks, remain unclear. In this study, we compared skin colonization by C. auris versus C. albicans to illuminate distinct fungal-immune interactions in mice. C. auris exhibited enhanced skin persistence, hair follicle tropism, and direct hair binding. Whereas C. albicans triggered a type 3/17–skewed sterilizing antifungal immune response, C. auris triggered a type 1 interferon-γ (IFNγ)–driven response directed toward hair follicles. IFNγ enhanced C. auris colonization by signaling to keratinocytes and repressing epithelial antifungal defense programs. Genetic and biochemical approaches demonstrated that, in response to cues associated with the skin, C. auris increases cell wall chitin exposure, triggering type 1 immunity and promoting fungal persistence.
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- Authors
- Merrill, E. D., Prudent, V., Basso, P., Rapp, E., Moghadam, P., Rodriguez, A., Hung, E., Hurabielle, C., Cheng, J., Cho, R. J., Abegaze, B., Buck, A., Pyper, K., Veinbachs, A., Wells, E. K. C., Scharschmidt, T. C., Rosenblum, M. D., Molofsky, A. B., & Noble, S. M.
- Affiliations
- San Francisco VA Medical Center (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Merrill, Eric Dean
- Prudent, Victoria
- Basso, Pauline
- Molofsky, Ari B.
- Noble, Suzanne M.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2026-08-06
- Volume
- 393
- Issue
- 6811
- Pages
- eadu6688-eadu6688
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W7196941514
- Semantic Scholar
- eaf37f947e354dfa0fdadb8ec08bb552a5f559e5
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5
- FWCI
- 23.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (T32AR007175-44, T32AR079068, R01AI180438, R01AR084863, R01NS126765, R21AI171789)
- Dermatology Foundation Career Development Award EDM
- Dermatology Foundation Dermatology Investigator Research Fellowship EDM
- Grunfeld Scholar Award VAMC
- Merit Review Award from the Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Fungal Infections and Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Nail Diseases and Treatments
- Keywords
- Candida auris, Candida albicans, interferon-gamma, hair follicle, skin colonization, fungal persistence, keratinocytes, antifungal immunity, type 1 immune response, type 3 immunity, fungal cell wall, multidrug-resistant fungi
- MeSH terms
- Candida auris, Animals, Candida albicans, Cell Wall, Chitin, Female, Interferon-gamma, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Keratinocytes, Hair Follicle, Mice
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