Fungal biofilms: survival strategies PDF Print
LUMINIŢA - IULIANA MALIC *1, INGRID CEZARA APETREI 2, MIHAI MAREŞ 1,3
(1)Laboratorul de Micologie-Micotoxicologie, (2)Laboratorul de Microbiologie, Departamentul de Sănătate Publică - USAMV «Ion Ionescu de la Brad»,(3)Departamentul de Cercetare alUniversităţii «Petre Andrei» - Iaşi, România

Pathogenic fungi in the genus Candida can cause both superficial and systemic diseases, and are now recognized as major agents of hospital-acquired infections. Candida infections involve the formation of biofilms on catheters or other prosthetic devices. Biofilms of Candida albicans consist of matrix enclosed microcolonies of yeasts and hyphae, arranged in a superposed structure. The biofilm is resistant to a range of antifungal agents currently in clinical use, including amphotericin B and fluconazole, and it appears to be a multiple resistance mechanism. The lack of reactivity of these organized communities to main antifungals or other existing decontaminants is already proved. The mechanisms by which Candida biofilms resist to the action of antifungal agents are not well known. Possible resistance mechanisms include drug exclusion by the biofilm matrix and phenotypic changes resulting from nutrient limitation or a low growth rate. The results of previous studies have demonstrated the fact that the yeasts embedded in biofilm matrix exhibit resistance to main antifungals in all stages of its growing and development, while the planktonic forms belong to the same species have proved rarely resistance and only in early stages of growing.
Keywords:  biofilm, matrix, yeasts, antifungals, resistance
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