Title:Fungal Biofilm – A Real Obstacle Against an Efficient Therapy: Lessons from Candida
Volume: 17
Issue: 17
Author(s): Thais Pereira de Mello, Lívia de Souza Ramos, Lys Adriana Braga-Silva, Marta Helena Branquinha and Andre Luis Souza dos Santos*
Affiliation:
- Laboratorio de Investigacao de Peptidases (LIP), Departamento de Microbiologia Geral, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Goes (IMPG), Bloco E - subsolo, sala 05, Centro de Ciencias da Saude (CCS), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-902,Brazil
Keywords:
Anti-biofilm strategies, Candida spp., Fungal biofilm, Fungal therapy, Resistance, Virulence factors.
Abstract: The past decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in invasive fungal infections, especially
caused by different species belonging to the Candida genus. Nowadays, even after many improvements
in several medical procedures, Candida infections (candidiasis) still account for an unacceptable
high rate of morbimortality in hospital settings. Corroborating this statement, fungal biofilms
formed on both abiotic and living surfaces are responsible for an important medical and economic
burden, since biofilm lifestyle confers numerous advantages to the pathogens, including high tolerance
to environmental stresses such as antimicrobials and host immune responses. Aggravating this
scenario, the currently used antifungal drugs have mostly been developed to target exponentially
growing fungal cells and are poorly or not effective against biofilm structures. So, the challenges to
inhibit biofilm formation (e.g., blocking the fungal adhesion and its fully development due to the
changes of physicochemical properties of the inert substrates by covering or impregnating them with
antimicrobial compounds, for example, silver nanoparticles) and/or to disarticulate mature biofilm architecture
(e.g., by using compounds capable in destabilizing, weakening or destroying the extracellular
matrix components, including inhibitors of quorum sensing signals, hydrolytic enzymes, surfactants,
chelator agents and biocides) are stimulating researchers around the world to search novel
strategies and new chemotherapeutic options to control fungal biofilm. In this context, the present review
summarizes some promising approaches and/or strategies that could improve our ability to prevent
or eradicate fungal biofilms in medical settings, focusing on the lessons learned with Candida
model.
