Los Angeles, Jan. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A\u00a0new international study<\/a>\u00a0published in\u00a0Nature<\/em>\u00a0has identified\u00a0albumin, the most abundant protein in human blood, as a powerful and previously unrecognized defense against\u00a0mucormycosis, a rare but often fatal fungal infection. The research was led by George Chamilos, MD and his laboratory at the\u00a0University of Crete\u00a0and\u00a0Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, with critical contributions from a\u00a0Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation<\/a>\u00a0team lead by\u00a0Professor\u00a0Ashraf Ibrahim, PhD<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mucormycosis, sometimes called \u201cblack fungus,\u201d is a fast-moving infection caused by\u00a0Mucorales\u00a0fungi and can be deadly in up to half of affected patients, and in some cases diagnosis of mucormycosis carries a prognosis of a certain death. The disease surged in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among individuals with diabetes, weakened immune systems, or malnutrition.<\/p>\n The study found that patients with mucormycosis had\u00a0markedly lower levels of albumin\u00a0compared with patients suffering from other fungal infections. Low albumin levels\u2014known as hypoalbuminemia\u2014were the\u00a0strongest predictor of poor outcomes, including death, across patient populations spanning multiple continents.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a remarkable finding and has the potential to change the way clinicians care for mucormycosis,\u201d said Dr. Ibrahim, a senior author on the study. Essentially, the study identified hypoalbuminemia as a biomarker for identifying who would be at risk of developing this deadly disease. Therefore, patients can receive albumin loaded with free fatty acids to prevent the infection from taking place, which is the best way of dealing with mucormycosis given its aggressive nature.<\/p>\n \u201cThe study also tells us how albumin works on nullifying critical virulence factors including toxins and other fungal proteins involved in causing tissue damage and in aggressively invading human organs,\u201d explained Dr. Ibrahim. The study raises the potential in pairing albumin therapy with immunotherapies that target Mucorales virulence factors for which The Lundquist Institute investigators are currently developing.<\/p>\n Researchers showed that albumin\u00a0selectively inhibits Mucorales fungi, while leaving other microbes unaffected. Removing albumin from healthy human blood samples allowed the fungus to grow unrestricted, while mice lacking albumin were highly susceptible to infection. In contrast, restoring albumin levels protected against the disease.<\/p>\n Further experiments revealed that albumin exerts its antifungal effects through\u00a0fatty acids bound to the protein, which disrupt fungal metabolism and protein production required for tissue invasion and disease progression. Blood samples from mucormycosis patients showed increased oxidation of these fatty acids, helping explain their vulnerability to infection.<\/p>\n The findings uncover a\u00a0previously unknown host-defense mechanism\u00a0and suggest that\u00a0albumin-based therapies\u00a0could offer a new strategy to prevent or treat mucormycosis, a disease with limited effective treatment options.<\/p>\n