Fungi Commons^™

Erg11-Mediated Azole Resistance In Candida Albicans, Stephanie Ann Flowers

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Although many medically important Candida species are commensal to the gut or colonizers of the skin, these organisms have the propensity to cause disease in the event of a waning immune system. Clinical manifestations of infections with Candida species can range from superficial mucosal infections to deep organ involvement usually resulting from haematogenous spread of infection. Despite significant progress made in the management of patients with fungal infections, the emergence of antifungal resistant clinical isolates creates significant problem in regards to antifungal prophylaxis and empirical treatment strategies. Antifungal resistance is associated with high mortality rates and hefty medical costs. The …

Signal Transduction And Transcriptional Regulation Pathways Essential For Azole Resistance In Candida Albicans, Erin M. Vasicek

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Candida albicans is the most prevalent human fungal pathogen, found as a commensal organism in the mucosa, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tracts of humans. This pathogenic fungus causes a wide spectrum of diseases, including the mucosal infection oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) which frequently effects patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The azole antifungals (such as fluconazole) are the most widely used and important ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors (EBIs) for the treatment of Candida infections, including OPC. However, the azoles are fungistatic against C. albicans and therefore have limited efficacy against this organism, especially for immunocompromised patients. In C. albicans, the transcription factor Upc2 …

Transcriptional Regulation Of Azole Antifungal Resistance And Tolerance In Candida Glabrata, Kelly E. Caudle

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Azole antifungal resistance has emerged as a significant problem in the management of infections caused by fungi including Candida species. In recent years, Candida glabrata has become the second most common cause of mucosal and invasive fungal infections in humans second to Candida albicans. Not only are systemic C. glabrata infections characterized by high mortality rates, treatment failures to the azole class of antifungals, the most widely used antifungal for treatment of Candida infections, have been reported. Contributing to this problem, C. glabrata exhibits intrinsic reduced susceptibility to the azole antifungals, and the development of high-level azole resistance …

Transcriptional Regulation Of Azole Antifungal Resistance In Candida Albicans, Teresa T. Liu

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Candida albicans is a pathogenic fungi found in the mucosa, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tracts of humans. Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC), an opportunistic mucosal infection caused by C. albicans, occurs most frequently in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). OPC is usually treated with azole antifungals, a class of antifungals that target ergosterol biosynthesis, at low doses over long periods of time. This course of treatment allows for the development of azole resistance.

Two major mechanisms of azole resistance exist in C. albicans, the up-regulation of genes encoding efflux pumps and the up-regulation of ERG11, a gene encoding the azole drug …