A TEAM of researchers led by the University of Exeter have been awarded a £3.3 million grant to study the treatment and potential cure for eczema.

The new five-year research programme will bring together experts in immunology, fungal biology and dermatology.

Project lead, Professor Salomé LeibundGut-Landmann, said: ‘We are thrilled to have been awarded this substantial research grant to advance the understanding of how fungi drive eczema, a very common and disabling skin disease.

‘The close collaboration between clinicians and basic researchers fosters an interdisciplinary approach to identify the mechanisms of disease with direct translational implications for the patients’.

One key feature of eczema is that the skin becomes more sensitive and easily irritated by substances that are normally harmless, including some of the natural microorganisms that live on our skin.

One such group is Malassezia, a type of fungus that naturally lives on everyone’s skin and may act as a trigger of eczema.

In people with eczema, the body’s immune system may mistakenly react to Malassezia, contributing to inflammation and worsening symptoms.

This study will explore how Malassezia strains interact with the immune system and might play a role in eczema.

Researchers have three main aims:understand how the body normally keeps Malassezia in check; identify what changes in the fungus or the immune system may lead to allergic reactions directed against Malassezia in eczema and investigate whether adjusting the skin’s fungal community could help improve treatment, especially in hard-to-treat eczema cases.

By studying fungal samples from eczema patients and using experimental models, the team hopes to uncover new ways to treat or even prevent eczema by focusing on the fungus-host relationship.