scholarly journals Molecular Mechanisms of 5-Fluorocytosine Resistance in Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 909
Author(s):  
Fatima Zohra Delma ◽  
Abdullah M. S. Al-Hatmi ◽  
Roger J. M. Brüggemann ◽  
Willem J. G. Melchers ◽  
Sybren de Hoog ◽  
...  

Effective management and treatment of fungal diseases is hampered by poor diagnosis, limited options for antifungal therapy, and the emergence of antifungal drug resistance. An understanding of molecular mechanisms contributing to resistance is essential to optimize the efficacy of currently available antifungals. In this perspective, one of the oldest antifungals, 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), has been the focus of recent studies applying advanced genomic and transcriptomic techniques to decipher the order of events at the molecular level that lead to resistance. These studies have highlighted the complexity of resistance and provided new insights that are reviewed in the present paper.

Author(s):  
Lakshmi Krishnasamy ◽  
Sharanya Krishnakumar ◽  
Govindasamy Kumaramanickavel ◽  
Chitralekha Saikumar

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-111
Author(s):  
Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan ◽  
Mir Nazrul Islam

Superficial fungal infections (dermatophytes) affecting skin, nail and hair are the most common infective dermatosis seen in dermatology outpatient clinics. There is a rising prevalence of dermatophytosis, especially in tropical countries like Bangladesh, with a concomitant increase in the number of difficult to treat cases. The reason for this phenomenon is not yet clear, but may be related to inadequate treatment regimen or discontinuation of medication, difficulties in eliminating predisposing factors and sources of re-infection. The pathogenesis and severity of fungal infection depend on various immunological and nonimmunological factors. The rampant use of antifungal therapy in immunocompromised individuals marked the onset of antifungal drug resistance. Fungal resistance can be microbiological or clinical. Genetic alterations in the fungi cause microbiological resistance. Clinical resistance is due to host or drug related factors. All these factors may cause fungal resistance individually or in tandem. Appropriate drug dosing along with antifungal drug susceptibility testing, especially for the dermatophytes isolated from chronic, recurrent cases or those with atypical presentation should be encouraged. Other ways to avoid resistance is the use of combination antifungal therapy. Combination therapy offers advantages in increased synergistic action with enhanced spectrum activity. Finally, newer insights into molecular mechanisms of drug resistance will help in the development of appropriate antifungal therapy. Till then experience based treatment of dermatophytosis is more effective than the standard guideline. Bangladesh Crit Care J September 2020; 8(2): 108-111


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sweety Dahiya ◽  
Namita Sharma ◽  
Aruna Punia ◽  
Pooja Choudhary ◽  
Prity Gulia ◽  
...  

: Fungal infections have shown an upsurge in recent decades, mainly because of the increasing number of immunocompromised patients, and the occurrence of invasive candidiasis is found to be 7-15 folds greater than that of invasive aspergillosis. The genus Candida comprises of more than 150 distinct species; however, only a few of them are found to be pathogenic to humans. Mortality rates of Candida species are found to be around 45%, and the reasons for this intensified mortality are inefficient diagnostic techniques and unfitting initial treatment strategies. There are only a few antifungal drug classes that are employed for the remedy of invasive fungal infections, including azoles, polyenes, echinocandins, and pyrimidine analogs. During the last 2-3 decades, the usage of antifungal drugs has increased several folds, due to which the reports of escalating antifungal drug resistance have also been recorded. The resistance is mostly to the triazole-based compounds. Due to antifungal drug resistance, the success rates of treatment have been reduced and major changes have been observed in the frequency of fungal infections. In this review, we have summarized the major molecular mechanisms for the development of antifungal drug resistance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estela Ruiz-Baca ◽  
Rosa Isela Arredondo-Sánchez ◽  
Karina Corral-Pérez ◽  
Angélica López-Rodríguez ◽  
Iván Meneses-Morales ◽  
...  

Invasive Candidiasis (IC) presents a global mortality rate greater than 40%, occupying the fourth place worldwide as the most frequent opportunistic nosocomial disease. Although the genus Candida consists of around 200 species, only 20 are reported as etiological agents of IC, being Candida albicans the most frequent causal agent. Even when there is a broad range of antifungals drugs for Candida infections, azoles, polyenes, and echinocandins are considered among the most effective treatment. However, there is some incidence for antifungal resistance among some Candida strains, limiting treatment options. Several molecular mechanisms with antifungal agents have been reported for C. albicans where insertions, deletions, and point mutations in genes codifying target proteins are frequently related to the antifungal drug resistance. Furthermore, gene overexpression is also frequently associated to antifungal resistance as well as an increase in the activity of proteins that reduce oxidative damage. This chapter summarizes the main molecular mechanisms to C. albicans antifungal drug resistance, besides offering an overview of new antifungal agents and new antifungal targets to combat fungal infections.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore C. White ◽  
Kieren A. Marr ◽  
Raleigh A. Bowden

SUMMARY In the past decade, the frequency of diagnosed fungal infections has risen sharply due to several factors, including the increase in the number of immunosuppressed patients resulting from the AIDS epidemic and treatments during and after organ and bone marrow transplants. Linked with the increase in fungal infections is a recent increase in the frequency with which these infections are recalcitrant to standard antifungal therapy. This review summarizes the factors that contribute to antifungal drug resistance on three levels: (i) clinical factors that result in the inability to successfully treat refractory disease; (ii) cellular factors associated with a resistant fungal strain; and (iii) molecular factors that are ultimately responsible for the resistance phenotype in the cell. Many of the clinical factors that contribute to resistance are associated with the immune status of the patient, with the pharmacology of the drugs, or with the degree or type of fungal infection present. At a cellular level, antifungal drug resistance can be the result of replacement of a susceptible strain with a more resistant strain or species or the alteration of an endogenous strain (by mutation or gene expression) to a resistant phenotype. The molecular mechanisms of resistance that have been identified to date in Candida albicans include overexpression of two types of efflux pumps, overexpression or mutation of the target enzyme, and alteration of other enzymes in the same biosynthetic pathway as the target enzyme. Since the study of antifungal drug resistance is relatively new, other factors that may also contribute to resistance are discussed.


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