{"title":"The Role of Host and Fungal Factors in the Commensal-to-Pathogen Transition of <i>Candida albicans</i>.","authors":"Ilse D Jacobsen","doi":"10.1007/s40588-023-00190-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong></p><p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>The fungus <i>Candida albicans</i> has evolved to live in close association with warm-blooded hosts and is found frequently on mucosal surfaces of healthy humans. As an opportunistic pathogen, <i>C. albicans</i> can also cause mucosal and disseminated infections (candidiasis). This review describes the features that differentiate the fungus in the commensal <i>versus</i> pathogenic state and the main factors underlying <i>C. albicans</i> commensal-to-pathogen transition.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Adhesion, invasion, and tissue damage are critical steps in the infection process. Especially invasion and damage require transcriptional and morphological changes that differentiate <i>C. albicans</i> in the pathogenic from the commensal state. While the commensal-to-pathogen transition has some conserved causes and features in the oral cavity, the female urogenital tract, and the gut, site-specific differences have been identified in recent years.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>This review highlights how specific factors in the different mucosal niches affect development of candidiasis. Recent evidence suggests that colonization of the gut is not only a risk factor for systemic candidiasis but might also provide beneficial effects to the host.</p>","PeriodicalId":45506,"journal":{"name":"Current Clinical Microbiology Reports","volume":"10 2","pages":"55-65"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10154278/pdf/","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Current Clinical Microbiology Reports","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40588-023-00190-w","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 4
Abstract
Abstract:
Purpose of review: The fungus Candida albicans has evolved to live in close association with warm-blooded hosts and is found frequently on mucosal surfaces of healthy humans. As an opportunistic pathogen, C. albicans can also cause mucosal and disseminated infections (candidiasis). This review describes the features that differentiate the fungus in the commensal versus pathogenic state and the main factors underlying C. albicans commensal-to-pathogen transition.
Recent findings: Adhesion, invasion, and tissue damage are critical steps in the infection process. Especially invasion and damage require transcriptional and morphological changes that differentiate C. albicans in the pathogenic from the commensal state. While the commensal-to-pathogen transition has some conserved causes and features in the oral cavity, the female urogenital tract, and the gut, site-specific differences have been identified in recent years.
Summary: This review highlights how specific factors in the different mucosal niches affect development of candidiasis. Recent evidence suggests that colonization of the gut is not only a risk factor for systemic candidiasis but might also provide beneficial effects to the host.
期刊介绍:
Current Clinical Microbiology Reports commissions expert reviews from leading scientists at the forefront of research in microbiology. The journal covers this broad field by dividing it into four key main areas of study: virology, bacteriology, parasitology, and mycology. Within each of the four sections, experts from around the world address important aspects of clinical microbiology such as immunology, diagnostics, therapeutics, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, and vaccines. Some of the world’s foremost authorities in the field of microbiology serve as section editors and editorial board members. Section editors select topics for which leading researchers are invited to contribute comprehensive review articles that emphasize new developments and recently published papers of major importance, which are highlighted in annotated reference lists. These timely reviews of the literature examine the latest scientific discoveries and controversies as they emerge and are indispensable to both researchers and clinicians. The editorial board, composed of more than 20 internationally diverse members, reviews the annual table of contents, ensures that topics address all aspects of emerging research, and where applicable suggests topics of critical importance to various countries/regions.