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New strategic insights into managing fungal biofilms

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Christopher NileORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© 2015 Borghi, Morace, Borgo, Rajendran, Sherry, Nile and Ramage.Fungal infections have dramatically increased in the last decades in parallel with an increase of populations with impaired immunity, resulting from medical conditions such as cancer, transplantation, or other chronic diseases. Such opportunistic infections result from a complex relationship between fungi and host, and can range from self-limiting to chronic or life-threatening infections. Modern medicine, characterized by a wide use of biomedical devices, offers new niches for fungi to colonize and form biofilm communities. The capability of fungi to form biofilms is well documented and associated with increased drug tolerance and resistance. In addition, biofilm formation facilitates persistence in the host promoting a persistent inflammatory condition. With a limited availability of antifungals within our arsenal, new therapeutic approaches able to address both host and pathogenic factors that promote fungal disease progression, i.e., chronic inflammation and biofilm formation, could represent an advantage in the clinical setting. In this paper we discuss the antifungal properties of myriocin, fulvic acid, and acetylcholine in light of their already known anti-inflammatory activity and as candidate dual action therapeutics to treat opportunistic fungal infections.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Borghi E, Morace G, Borgo F, Rajendran R, Sherry L, Nile C, Ramage G

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Frontiers in Microbiology

Year: 2015

Volume: 6

Online publication date: 06/10/2015

Acceptance date: 21/09/2015

Date deposited: 10/02/2020

ISSN (electronic): 1664-302X

Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.

URL: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01077

DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01077


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