Efficient Consumption Of Copper Allows Fungus To Infect The Brain

... Infection with the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans is a problem for individuals whose immune system is compromised (for example individuals with HIV and individuals who are taking chemotherapeutics to treat cancer). It can cause either cryptococcal pneumonia or, more seriously, meningoencephalitis. In a study that appears online on February 8 in advance of publication in the March print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago show that in mice, the infecting fungus must be adapted to grow in the presence of low levels of copper if it is to efficiently infect the brain and cause meningoencephalitis. ...