New vaccine candidate could shield millions from deadly fungal infections, study finds

A vaccine candidate known as NXT-2 has shown promise in preventing or reducing the severity of infections caused by Candida albicans and other fungi in a mouse study. The research, conducted at the University of Georgia, underscores a growing focus on fungal infections that affect nearly 1 billion people worldwide and kill about 1.5 million each year. Candida albicans is responsible for up to 95 percent of yeast infections, a burden that is compounded by the fungus’s increasing resistance to antifungal drugs, which can complicate treatment.

Tests in female mice with vulvovaginal candidiasis showed that a single dose of NXT-2 generated antibodies against the fungal pathogen and lowered fungal load in vaginal fluid by about 50 percent after 28 days, compared with unvaccinated controls. Vaccinated mice also exhibited roughly 35 percent less inflammation in vaginal tissue. The vaccine works by triggering the production of antibodies that target NXT-2, a protein that helps export RNA and proteins in fungal cells. The antibodies bind to the surface of fungal pathogens and help destroy the cells. The study builds on prior work suggesting NXT-2 can protect against Candida, Pneumocystis and Aspergillus infections, three groups of fungi associated with a large share of fatal fungal diseases.

The team is moving toward human testing, with plans to evaluate NXT-2 in women who experience recurrent candidiasis, known as recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC). RVVC is not life-threatening but can be profoundly burdensome, affecting about 1 in 10 women over a lifetime and causing three or more yeast infections per year. Current treatments rely largely on one antifungal drug class, which raises the risk of resistance and does not prevent future episodes. Pregnancy considerations and drug limitations further complicate management for many patients.

Karen Norris, the study’s lead author and a professor of immunology and translational biomedicine in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, said: 'RVVC is not life-threatening, but it is miserable. This is a huge need.' Norris noted that the findings could inform future research aimed at more vulnerable populations, such as transplant recipients and cancer patients who are at increased risk of life-threatening fungal infections that spread to the lungs, blood or central nervous system. She recalled a physician describing patients who undergo stem cell transplants and then contract aspergillosis, highlighting the gap in available treatments. 'That’s where I believe this vaccine will do the most good: in people who are at high risk for highly dangerous, life-threatening infections.'

The researchers described NXT-2 as a potential single, pan-fungal vaccine capable of addressing local and systemic infections caused by major fungal pathogens. The study, published in NPJ Vaccines in June, emphasizes the antibody-based mechanism as a means to curb fungal growth and inflammation in treated subjects. If subsequent human trials prove safe and effective, the vaccine could represent a new line of defense against fungal infections that have outpaced current therapies and increasingly threaten immunocompromised patients. The team cautioned that results in animals do not always translate to humans, but the data provide a strong rationale for advancing to early-stage clinical studies and exploring broader applications across diverse patient groups.