In a collaborative study between Zepto Life Technology (“Zepto”) and the University of Minnesota, researchers have made significant strides in improving the monitoring of fungal infections, specifically Candida krusei fungemia. The study, published in the Journal of Fungi, explored the application of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) detection using giant magnetoresistance (GMR) technology in immunocompromised patients.
The study focused on a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome, demonstrating that GMR-based cfDNA detection offers rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective monitoring of fungal infections, potentially transforming current diagnostic practices. Unlike conventional methods, which can be complex and costly, this approach can eventually be used as a point-of-care test, providing critical real-time data to healthcare providers.
Zepto Life Technologies innovative platform could help clinicians monitor infection progression and response to antifungal treatments more efficiently, paving the way for earlier interventions and better patient outcomes. This groundbreaking development marks a new era in fungal pathogen detection, tackling long-standing barriers of complexity, cost, and time associated with cfDNA testing.
“By testing serially, the Zepto test helps to monitor response to therapy. When the patient’s immune system started to recover from the insult of chemotherapy, as measured by a rise to the normal range for his white blood cell count, his Zepto test result started to trend down. This index patient example proved that an invasive fungal infection requires direct antifungal therapy and an intact immune system to control a bloodstream yeast infection. If the testing platform can be simplified to serve as a point-of-care test, it has the potential to be used near a patient’s bedside, and this would help with both diagnosis of infection as well as monitoring response to therapy.”
Dr. Young
- Fungi 2024, 10(7), 449; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10070449
About Journal of Fungi
Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X) is an international, peer-reviewed scientific open access journal that provides an advanced forum for studies related to pathogenic fungi, fungal biology, and all other aspects of fungal research.
About Zepto Life Technology
Founded in 2014, Zepto Life Technology is a privately held company based in St. Paul, Minnesota. We are at the forefront of developing groundbreaking products that can detect invasive fungal infections using cell-free DNA found in blood. Our cutting-edge detection technology, Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR), is renowned for its high sensitivity and specificity. This Nobel Prize-winning technology from 2007 enables us to detect multiple infections accurately without compromising specificity.
In collaboration with Mayo Clinic, Zepto Life Technology is committed to advancing healthcare by providing precise and reliable diagnostic solutions.