Fungal Biofilms

Fanning, Saranna; Mitchell, Aaron P.

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1002585

Cited by 379 publications

(307 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…High levels of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, previously reported at three South Florida beaches (Esiobu et al, 2004), may be explained by the ability of these organisms to replicate in sand over a range of conditions, and the sand may also offer an environment favorable to pathogen growth through biofilm development (Hartz et al, 2008). Biofilms provide protection against extreme changes in moisture, salinity, and other environmental variables as well as provide some protection against predators, as reviewed in Fanning and Mitchell (2012).…”

Section: Bacteriamentioning

confidence: 97%

Routine screening of harmful microorganisms in beach sands: Implications to public health

Sabino

Rodrigues

Costa

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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Beaches worldwide provide recreational opportunities to hundreds of millions of people and serve as important components of coastal economies. Beach water is often monitored for microbiological quality to detect the presence of indicators of human sewage contamination so as to prevent public health outbreaks associated with water contact. However, growing evidence suggests that beach sand can harbor microbes harmful to human health, often in concentrations greater than the beach water. Currently, there are no standards for monitoring, sampling, analyzing, or managing beach sand quality. In addition to indicator microbes, growing evidence has identified pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and fungi in a variety of beach sands worldwide. The public health threat associated with these populations through direct and indirect contact is unknown because so little research has been conducted relating to health outcomes associated with sand quality. In this manuscript, we present the consensus findings of a workshop of experts convened in Lisbon, Portugal to discuss the current state of knowledge on beach sand microbiological quality and to develop suggestions for standardizing the evaluation of sand at coastal beaches. The expert group at the "Microareias 2012" workshop recommends that 1) beach sand should be screened for a variety of pathogens harmful to human health, and sand monitoring should then be initiated alongside regular water monitoring; 2) sampling and analysis protocols should be standardized to allow proper comparisons among beach locations; and 3) further studies are needed to estimate human health risk with exposure to contaminated beach sand. Much of the manuscript is focused on research specific to Portugal, but similar results have been found elsewhere, and the findings have worldwide implications.

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Section: Bacteriamentioning

confidence: 97%

Routine screening of harmful microorganisms in beach sands: Implications to public health

Sabino

Rodrigues

Costa

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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“…As the biofilm form of fungi is usually associated with virulence [8], we therefore tested whether the biofilm form of C. neoformans was able to activate monocytes for IL-1β secretion. Surprisingly, THP-1 cell incubation with the biofilm form of C. neoformans resulted in a clear induction of IL-1β ( Figure 1C).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biofilm from a clinical strain of Cryptococcus neoformans activates the NLRP3 inflammasome

Lei

Chen

et al. 2013

Cell Res

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“…The matrix is a major feature that distinguishes biofilms from planktonic cells. Candida biofilms are intrinsically resistant to azoles, and the mechanisms are multifactorial, involving induction of drug efflux transporters and drug sequestration within the extensive matrix structure (Kumamoto 2002;Mukherjee et al 2003;Chandra et al 2005;Ramage et al 2009;Fanning and Mitchell 2012). As with planktonic C. albicans, active drug efflux can be induced by up-regulation of CDR and MDR genes (Ramage et al 2002;Mukherjee et al 2003).…”

Section: Biofilmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Antifungal Drug Resistance

Cowen

Sanglard

Howard

et al. 2014

Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med

492

399

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Antifungal therapy is a central component of patient management for acute and chronic mycoses. Yet, treatment choices are restricted because of the sparse number of antifungal drug classes. Clinical management of fungal diseases is further compromised by the emergence of antifungal drug resistance, which eliminates available drug classes as treatment options. Once considered a rare occurrence, antifungal drug resistance is on the rise in many high-risk medical centers. Most concerning is the evolution of multidrug-resistant organisms refractory to several different classes of antifungal agents, especially among common Candida species. The mechanisms responsible are mostly shared by both resistant strains displaying inherently reduced susceptibility and those acquiring resistance during therapy. The molecular mechanisms include altered drug affinity and target abundance, reduced intracellular drug levels caused by efflux pumps, and formation of biofilms. New insights into genetic factors regulating these mechanisms, as well as cellular factors important for stress adaptation, provide a foundation to better understand the emergence of antifungal drug resistance.

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Fungal Biofilms

Cited by 379 publications

References 30 publications

Routine screening of harmful microorganisms in beach sands: Implications to public health

Routine screening of harmful microorganisms in beach sands: Implications to public health

Biofilm from a clinical strain of Cryptococcus neoformans activates the NLRP3 inflammasome

Mechanisms of Antifungal Drug Resistance

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