Division of Infectious Diseases, The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Harbor-University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA.
Cypress High School, Cypress, CA.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2024 Oct;81:102520. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102520. Epub 2024 Aug 9.
Fungal biofilms are a multilayered community of cells attached to mucosal or abiotic surfaces enclosed in a coating of self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix. The sheer density of cells protected by a polymeric shield not only makes the biofilm impermeable to antimicrobials or immune cells but also hidden from host recognition. Biofilms also serve as a reservoir of drug-resistant persister cells and dispersal cells armored with virulence factors adept at evading the immune system. Here, we summarize the latest knowledge on the immunomodulatory properties of biofilms formed by Candida species and by other biofilm-forming fungal pathogens such as Aspergillus and Cryptococcus. Finally, we deliberate on promising strategies to help activate the immune system for combating fungal biofilms.
真菌生物膜是附着在黏膜或无生命表面的细胞的多层群落,被自身产生的细胞外聚合物基质包裹。聚合物盾牌保护下的细胞密度之高,不仅使生物膜对杀菌剂或免疫细胞具有抗渗透性,而且还能躲避宿主的识别。生物膜还是耐药持久细胞和带有毒力因子的分散细胞的储库,这些细胞善于逃避免疫系统。在这里,我们总结了关于念珠菌和其他生物膜形成真菌病原体(如曲霉属和隐球菌属)形成的生物膜的免疫调节特性的最新知识。最后,我们讨论了有希望的策略,以帮助激活免疫系统来对抗真菌生物膜。