Dissecting Candida albicans Infection from the Perspective of C. albicans Virulence and Omics Approaches on Host-Pathogen Interaction: A Review.

bloodstream infections remain the most frequent life-threatening fungal disease, with accounting for 70% to 80% of the isolates recovered from infected patients. In nature, species are part of the normal commensal flora in mammalian hosts. However, they can transform into pathogens once the host immune system is weakened or breached. More recently, mortality attributed to infections has continued to increase due to both inherent and acquired drug resistance in , the inefficacy of the available antifungal drugs, tedious diagnostic procedures, and a rising number of immunocompromised patients. Adoption of animal models, viz. minihosts, mice, and zebrafish, has brought us closer to unraveling the pathogenesis and complexity of infection in human hosts, leading towards the discovery of biomarkers and identification of potential therapeutic agents. In addition, the advancement of technologies offers a holistic view of the -host interaction in a non-targeted and non-biased manner. Hence, in this review, we seek to summarize past and present milestone findings on virulence, adoption of animal models in the study of infection, and the application of technologies in the study of -host interaction. A profound understanding of the interaction between host defense and pathogenesis is imperative for better design of novel immunotherapeutic strategies in future.