Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41792460›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2026

ENA1 deficiency attenuates Saccharomyces 'boulardii' probiotic yeast virulence in immunosuppressed mouse fungaemia model.

Alexandra Imre, Renátó Kovács, Ágnes Jakab, Andrea Harmath, Bálint Németh, Fruzsina Nagy, Lajos Forgács, Dávid Balázsi, László Majoros, Zsigmond Benkő and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Alexandra ImreDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5544-0327
Renátó KovácsDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Ágnes JakabDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Andrea HarmathDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Bálint NémethDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Fruzsina NagyDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Lajos ForgácsDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Dávid BalázsiDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
László MajorosDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Zsigmond BenkőDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Nathan CrookDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6165-1972
István PócsiDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2692-6453
Walter P PflieglerDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary. pfliegler.valter@science.unideb.hu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6723-4416

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Recently, fungal infections originating from the probiotic Saccharomyces 'boulardii' yeast are increasingly reported. Here, we aimed to reveal the background of and to diminish the virulence of this yeast, mitigating infection risks in vulnerable patient groups. Product and human isolates of S. 'boulardii' were subjected to in-host selection and their subclone lineages were compared phenotypically to identify target phenotypes and associated genes. More virulent isolates showed signs of selection for high osmotic tolerance in immunosuppressed mouse model, hence the genes NHA1 and ENA1 were deleted in six different 'boulardii' backgrounds. Only ENA1 deletion diminished virulence in our mouse fungemia model and it retained the ability for gut colonization and its probiotic characteristics, including similar effects on the gut microbiome in gavaged mice. We also demonstrated the successful substitution of the ENA1 gene with an antilisterial bacteriocin, opening a strategy for safe strains with therapeutic effect. Our strain development approach highlighted the importance of testing various genetic backgrounds and resulted in engineered strains with drastically reduced capability to cause bloodstream infections even in immunosuppressed hosts, establishing the groundwork for safer probiotic yeast therapies in the future.

Indexed as

Fungal ProteinsFungemiaProbioticsSaccharomyces boulardiiAnimalsDisease Models, AnimalFemaleHumansImmunocompromised HostMiceVirulenceFungal Proteins

Identifiers

PMID41792460
PMCPMC13096209

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.