Department of Clinical Analysis, Laboratory of Clinical Mycology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNESP, Araraquara, Brazil.
J Med Microbiol. 2013 Jan;62(Pt 1):10-24. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.045054-0. Epub 2012 Nov 22.
The incidence of fungal infections has increased significantly, so contributing to morbidity and mortality. This is caused by an increase in antimicrobial resistance and the restricted number of antifungal drugs, which retain many side effects. Candida species are major human fungal pathogens that cause both mucosal and deep tissue infections. Recent evidence suggests that the majority of infections produced by this pathogen are associated with biofilm growth. Biofilms are biological communities with a high degree of organization, in which micro-organisms form structured, coordinated and functional communities. These biological communities are embedded in a self-created extracellular matrix. Biofilm production is also associated with a high level of antimicrobial resistance of the associated organisms. The ability of Candida species to form drug-resistant biofilms is an important factor in their contribution to human disease. The study of plants as an alternative to other forms of drug discovery has attracted great attention because, according to the World Health Organization, these would be the best sources for obtaining a wide variety of drugs and could benefit a large population. Furthermore, silver nanoparticles, antibodies and photodynamic inactivation have also been used with good results. This article presents a brief review of the literature regarding the epidemiology of Candida species, as well as their pathogenicity and ability to form biofilms, the antifungal activity of natural products and other therapeutic options.
真菌感染的发病率显著增加，导致发病率和死亡率上升。这是由于抗微生物药物耐药性的增加和抗真菌药物数量有限，这些药物仍然存在许多副作用。念珠菌属是主要的人类真菌病原体，可引起粘膜和深部组织感染。最近的证据表明，这种病原体引起的大多数感染与生物膜生长有关。生物膜是具有高度组织化的微生物群落，其中微生物形成结构、协调和功能的群落。这些生物群落嵌入在自我创造的细胞外基质中。生物膜的产生也与相关生物体的高水平抗微生物药物耐药性有关。念珠菌属形成耐药生物膜的能力是其对人类疾病贡献的一个重要因素。植物作为其他形式的药物发现替代物的研究引起了极大的关注，因为根据世界卫生组织的说法，这些是获得各种药物的最佳来源，可以使大量人群受益。此外，银纳米粒子、抗体和光动力失活也取得了良好的效果。本文简要回顾了关于念珠菌属的流行病学、致病性和生物膜形成能力、天然产物的抗真菌活性以及其他治疗选择的文献。
