Impaired Dendritic Cells Due to COVID-19 or Other Illnesses Fuels Fungal Lung Infections
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jun 14, 2025 3 weeks, 3 days, 6 hours, 30 minutes ago
Medical News: A new study by scientists from the University of Manchester’s Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, the Manchester Fungal Infection Group, and the National Aspergillosis Centre at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust-UK reveals how critical immune system failures help fuel chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), a serious fungal lung disease. The research shows that a key set of immune cells—called dendritic cells—are severely impaired in CPA patients, leading to dangerous long-term infections even in people who appear otherwise healthy.
Impaired Dendritic Cells Due to COVID-19 or Other Illnesses Fuels Fungal Lung Infections
This
Medical News report delves into the study, which also draws a striking connection between CPA and immune dysfunctions observed in COVID-19. Similar damage to dendritic cells has been seen in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, further underscoring how chronic infections and immune misfiring are interlinked.
Fungal Infection Exploits Hidden Immune Weaknesses
CPA is a long-lasting lung infection caused by the Aspergillus fungus, which usually affects people with past lung damage—commonly from tuberculosis (TB), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or even prior COVID-19. It often recurs despite treatment and is difficult to fully cure. Researchers have now uncovered why this might be happening.
The immune system in CPA patients seems to be skewed. These individuals were found to have unusually high levels of neutrophils—cells that are supposed to fight infection—but their more specialized immune cells, particularly a type of dendritic cell known as cDC1, were both fewer in number and weaker in function.
Dendritic Cells Fail to Signal a Proper Immune Response
The dendritic cells, especially cDC1s, are supposed to alert and train T cells to fight infections by producing molecules like IL-12 and TNF-alpha. These in turn trigger the release of interferon-gamma (IFNγ), a potent immune response molecule. But in CPA patients, these dendritic cells failed to activate properly when exposed to fungal components in lab tests.
Even more concerning, this same dendritic cell dysfunction—reduced numbers and impaired activity—has been observed in individuals suffering from viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. It suggests a shared mechanism where certain infections, including COVID-19, may leave the immune system damaged and vulnerable to secondary fungal infections like CPA.
T Cells Are Fine But Cannot Work Without Proper Instructions
Interestingly, the study found that the T cells of CPA patients appeared normal in terms of number and memory capacity. This indicates that the problem lies not with the T cells themselves, but with the dendritic cells’ failure to give them proper instructions—further confirming that the breakdown starts upstream in the immune chain.
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Past TB Infections Seem to Strengthen the Immune Response
One unexpected finding was that CPA patients who previously had TB seemed to have better functioning dendritic cells. Their immune cells produced more IL-12 and TNF-alpha, hinting at a phenomenon called “trained immunity,” where earlier infections actually prime the immune system for future threats. While intriguing, this observation needs further study to confirm how prior TB infection may be protective in the context of fungal diseases.
Machine Learning Helps Predict Who Might Die
Using machine learning, researchers analyzed immune profiles from CPA patients and identified a high-risk group with extremely low dendritic cell activity and overwhelming neutrophil presence. This group also had significantly worse survival rates, proving that immune profiling can help predict which patients are most at risk and might benefit from more aggressive treatments or monitoring.
Conclusion
This important study provides the clearest picture yet of how chronic fungal lung infections like CPA can thrive even in people not traditionally considered immunocompromised. The breakdown of dendritic cells—seen also in infections like COVID-19—prevents the immune system from properly producing interferon-gamma, leaving patients unable to fight off Aspergillus. The discovery that TB history might bolster this part of the immune system opens the door to potential immune-based therapies. And the use of machine learning to pinpoint those at risk may revolutionize how CPA is diagnosed and managed. Ultimately, the research underscores the urgent need to understand how infections like SARS-CoV-2 leave behind long-term immune damage that makes people more vulnerable to fungal diseases.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Clinical and Experimental Immunology
https://academic.oup.com/cei/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cei/uxaf038/8160923
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
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