This Polish–Czech collaborative project investigates how dietary fatty acids modulate immune responses to fungal infections, with a particular focus on infections caused by the opportunistic pathogen Conidiobolus coronatus. Fungal infections pose an increasing threat to human and animal health, exacerbated by climate change, global mobility, and the growing prevalence of antifungal resistance. Identifying alternative strategies that strengthen host immunity rather than directly targeting pathogens is therefore of high scientific and societal relevance.
The project employs the wax moth Galleria mellonella as a model organism, which offers a unique combination of experimental accessibility and evolutionary conservation of innate immune mechanisms shared with mammals. This model allows systematic investigation of both humoral and cellular immune responses, including antimicrobial peptide production, melanization, hemocyte function, apoptosis, and immune-related signalling pathways.
The core hypothesis is that fatty acid supplementation enhances host resistance to fungal infection by inducing coordinated molecular, proteomic, and metabolic adaptations. The project aims to (i) identify fatty acids that improve survival during fungal infection, (ii) characterize transcriptional and proteomic changes associated with enhanced immunity, (iii) define metabolic and lipidomic signatures linked to immune activation, and (iv) assess the role of apoptosis and immune cell survival in antifungal defence.
A major strength of the project is its integrative analytical framework, combining infection biology with cutting-edge mass spectrometry–based metabolomics and lipidomics. The Czech partner contributes advanced LC-MS and GC-MS methodologies for comprehensive profiling of free and lipid-bound fatty acids, eicosanoids, oxidative stress markers, and global metabolic responses in immune cells and hemolymph. These data will be integrated with transcriptomic and proteomic analyses to generate a systems-level understanding of nutritional immune modulation.
The expected outcomes of the project include new mechanistic insights into how dietary components regulate immune function, validation of Galleria mellonella as a model for nutritional immunology, and identification of non-pharmacological strategies to enhance resistance to fungal infections. In the longer term, the results may inform approaches in human health, veterinary medicine, and sustainable agriculture, contributing to reduced reliance on antifungal drugs and improved management of infectious diseases.