Biofilms and Antifungal Resistance
Emily P. Fox, Sheena D. Singh-Babak, Nairi Hartooni and Clarissa J. Nobile
from: Antifungals: From Genomics to Resistance and the Development of Novel Agents (Edited by: Alix T. Coste and Patrick Vandeputte). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2015) Pages: 71-90.
Abstract
Infections caused by pathogenic fungi are a significant medical problem, as they are able to disseminate to nearly every organ of the human body and there are few classes of antifungal drugs available as therapeutic options. Fungal infections are even more difficult to manage when they are biofilm-associated due to the natural properties of the biofilm mode of growth. Like bacterial biofilms, fungal biofilms consist of adherent communities of cells that are attached to a substrate and to one another, and are enclosed in a protective extracellular matrix material. Biofilms in general are able to withstand much higher concentrations of antimicrobial agents compared to single free-floating (or planktonic) cells, making biofilm infections extremely challenging to treat. In this chapter, we review the current knowledge of biofilm formation in representative, pathogenic species from several phyla of fungi. We also discuss the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in fungal biofilms, the current standards of care for treating these biofilm-associated infections, and strategies for overcoming challenges in developing new antifungal drugs with efficacies against biofilms read more ...
