Candida albicans Biofilms and Human Disease

Abstract

In humans, microbial cells (including bacteria, archaea, and fungi) greatly outnumber host cells. Candida albicans is the most prevalent fungal species of the human microbiota; this species asymptomatically colonizes many areas of the body, particularly the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of healthy individuals. Alterations in host immunity, stress, resident microbiota, and other factors can lead to C. albicans overgrowth, causing a wide range of infections, from superficial mucosal to hematogenously disseminated candidiasis. To date, most studies of C. albicans have been carried out in suspension cultures; however, the medical impact of C. albicans (like that of many other microorganisms) depends on its ability to thrive as a biofilm, a closely packed community of cells. Biofilms are notorious for forming on implanted medical devices, including catheters, pacemakers, dentures, and prosthetic joints, which provide a surface and sanctuary for biofilm growth. C. albicans biofilms are intrinsically resistant to conventional antifungal therapeutics, the host immune system, and other environmental perturbations, making biofilm-based infections a significant clinical challenge. Here, we review our current knowledge of biofilms formed by C. albicans and closely related fungal species.

Oral and cloacal aerobic bacterial and fungal flora of free-living four-lined snakes (Elaphe quatuorlineata) from Croatia

“…and Aspergillus sp. were described as causes of secondary infections in gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) (MYERS et al, 2009) and both genera can cause various symptoms in humans, such as respiratory, intestinal or cutaneous problems, especially in immunocompromised people (BERNARDESCHI et al, 2015;NOBILE and JOHNSON, 2015). Rhodotorula rubra was reported to cause septicemia (EL-TAHAWY and KHALAF, 1999) and meningitis in immunocompromised persons (THAKUR et.…”

Fluconazole impacts the extracellular matrix of fluconazole-susceptible and -resistant Candida albicans and Candida glabrata biofilms

“…The difficulties in establishing what ECM components are important in facilitating resistance to antifungals have been a challenge [27]. As such, enhanced knowledge of the assembly and function of ECM will help inform the future design of more effective therapies to control Candida pathogenesis and biofilm development.…”

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“…The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states that biofilms are the cause of the majority of infections in humans 5 . In many cases, the treatment of biofilm infection caused by microbial biofilms on implants has to be done by removing the implant and replace it with the new one, and this procedure is time consuming, high cost and often life-threatening.…”