Fungal Biofilms: Relevance in the Setting of Human Disease

Martinez, Luis R.; Fries, Bettina C.

doi:10.1007/s12281-010-0035-5

Cited by 85 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 130 publications

(159 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Among fungi, different Candida species are the most common colonizers of implanted medical devices (Kumamoto and Vinces 2005; Ramage et al 2005). Fusarium species and Malessezia pachydermatis also form drug-resistant biofilms on implanted medical devices (Martinez and Fries 2010;Ramage et al 2011). Table 1 describes biofilm characteristics for several fungi commonly associated with device-related biofilm infections.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal Biofilms, Drug Resistance, and Recurrent Infection

Desai

Mitchell

Andes

2014

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine

208

148

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A biofilm is a surface-associated microbial community. Diverse fungi are capable of biofilm growth. The significance of this growth form for infection biology is that biofilm formation on implanted devices is a major cause of recurrent infection. Biofilms also have limited drug susceptibility, making device-associated infection extremely difficult to treat. Biofilm-like growth can occur during many kinds of infection, even when an implanted device is not present. Here we summarize the current understanding of fungal biofilm formation, its genetic control, and the basis for biofilm drug resistance.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal Biofilms, Drug Resistance, and Recurrent Infection

Desai

Mitchell

Andes

2014

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine

208

148

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The association in biofilms has a great medical importance as it confers greater resistance to specific mediators of the immune response and increased resistance to antimicrobial agents. This is the main reason why biofilm-associated infections are often refractory to conventional antibiotic therapy (Martinez & Fries, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, research in mycology has increasingly focused on biofilm phenotyping (Martinez & Fries, 2010). A wide variety of clinically important fungi have demonstrated the ability to colonize surfaces and form biofilms, including the genera Candida (Ganguly & Mitchell, 2011), Aspergillus (Müller et al, 2011), Coccidioides (Davis et al, 2002), Cryptococcus (Martinez et al, 2008), Pneumocystis (Cushion et al, 2009) and Trichosporon (Di Bonaventura et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Histoplasma capsulatum in planktonic and biofilm forms: in vitro susceptibility to amphotericin B, itraconazole and farnesol

Brilhante

Lima

Marques

et al. 2015

Journal of Medical Microbiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is believed that most microbial infections are caused by pathogens organized in biofilms. Recently, it was shown that the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, estimated to be the most common cause of fungal respiratory diseases, is also able to form biofilm. Although the antifungal therapy commonly used is effective, refractory cases and recurrences have been reported. In the search for new compounds with antimicrobial activity, the sesquiterpene farnesol has gained prominence for its antifungal action. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro susceptibility of H. capsulatum var. capsulatum to the antifungal agents itraconazole and amphotericin B, and farnesol alone and combined, as well as to determine the in vitro antifungal activity of these compounds against biofilms of this pathogen. The results show that farnesol has antifungal activity against H. capsulatum in the yeast and filamentous phases, with MIC values ranging from 0.0078 to 0.00312 mM. A synergistic effect (fractional inhibitory concentration index ¡0.5) between itraconazole and farnesol was found against 100 and 83.3 % of the isolates in yeast and mycelial forms, respectively, while synergism between amphotericin B and farnesol was only observed against 37.5 and 44.4 % of the isolates in yeast and filamentous forms, respectively. Afterwards, the antifungal drugs, itraconazole and amphotericin B, and farnesol alone, and the combination of itraconazole and farnesol, were tested against mature biofilms of H. capsulatum, through XTT (2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-5-[(phenylamino)carbonyl]-2H-tetrazolium hydroxide) metabolic assay, and the itraconazole and amphotericin B showed lower antibiofilm activity when compared to farnesol alone and farnesol combined with itraconazole. In conclusion, farnesol showed promising results as an antifungal agent against H. capsulatum and also showed adjuvant action, especially when combined with itraconazole, increasing the fungal susceptibility to this drug.

show abstract

“…It was reported that Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Pneumocystis spp. and Coccidioides immitis might also be able to produce fungal biofilms in humans (Cannizzo et al, 2007;Martinez and Fries, 2010). Biofilms are extracellular matrices produced by microorganisms (primarily bacteria and fungi) which help the pathogens attach to viable and non-viable surfaces (Van Minnebruggen et al, 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biofilms are extracellular matrices produced by microorganisms (primarily bacteria and fungi) which help the pathogens attach to viable and non-viable surfaces (Van Minnebruggen et al, 2010). Biofilm formation in Candida albicans resulted in a 30-to 2000-fold decrease in sensitivity to certain antifungals including ketoconazole (Martinez and Fries, 2010;Vandeputte et al, 2012). Figueredo et al (2013) reported that M. pachydermatis biofilms exhibited high-level resistance to several antifungals including azoles, at least 3 dilutions higher as compared to planktonic cells.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biofilm formation in Malassezia pachydermatis strains isolated from dogs decreases susceptibility to ketoconazole and itraconazole

Jerzsele

Gyetvai²,

Csere³

et al. 2014

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Malassezia pachydermatis is a commonly isolated yeast in veterinary dermatology that can produce biofilms in vitro and in vivo, lowering its susceptibility to antimicrobial drugs. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the in vitro susceptibility of planktonic cells and biofilms of M. pachydermatis isolates to ketoconazole and itraconazole. The presence of biofilm formation was confirmed by crystal violet staining and absorbance measurement at 595 nm wavelength, and by a scanning electron microscopy method. Cell viability was determined by the Celltiter 96 Aqueous One solution assay containing a water-soluble tetrazolium compound (MTS) with absorbance measurement at 490 nm. Planktonic cell minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) of ketoconazole and itraconazole were very low: MIC 90 and MFC 90 were 0.032 and 0.125 µg/ml for ketoconazole, while 0.063 and 0.25 µg/ml for itraconazole, respectively. Also, the half maximal effective concentrations (EC 50 ) of itraconazole were higher for planktonic cells and biofilms compared to ketoconazole. The EC 50 values of ketoconazole were 18-169 times higher and those of itraconazole 13-124 times higher for biofilms than for planktonic cells. Biofilm EC 50 levels exceeded MICs 103-2060 times for ketoconazole and 84-1400 times for itraconazole. No significant difference was found between these values of the two substances. In conclusion, biofilms of all examined M. pachydermatis strains were much less susceptible to ketoconazole and itraconazole than their planktonic forms. Key words: Biofilm, itraconazole, ketoconazole, Malassezia pachydermatis, planktonicMalassezia pachydermatis is a frequently isolated commensalistic yeast in veterinary dermatology (Bond, 2010;Outerbridge, 2006). It is a member of the normal skin flora, but can cause secondary dermatitis or external otitis in dogs and

show abstract

Fungal Biofilms: Relevance in the Setting of Human Disease

Cited by 85 publications

References 130 publications

Fungal Biofilms, Drug Resistance, and Recurrent Infection

Fungal Biofilms, Drug Resistance, and Recurrent Infection

Histoplasma capsulatum in planktonic and biofilm forms: in vitro susceptibility to amphotericin B, itraconazole and farnesol

Biofilm formation in Malassezia pachydermatis strains isolated from dogs decreases susceptibility to ketoconazole and itraconazole

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About