Candida albicans, a major human fungal pathogen.
Summary of "Candida albicans, a major human fungal pathogen."
Candida albicans is the most common human fungal pathogen (Beck-Sague and Jarvis, 1993). It is normally a harmless commensal organism. However, it is a opportunistic pathogen for some immunologically weak and immunocompromised people. It is responsible for painful mucosal infections such as the vaginitis in women and oral-pharangeal thrush in AIDS patients. In certain groups of vulnerable patients it causes severe, life-threatening bloodstream infections and it causes severe, life-threatening bloodstream infections and subsequent infections in the internal organs. There are various fascinating features of the C. albicans life cycle and biology that have made the pathogen the subject of extensive research, including its ability to grow in unicellular yeast, psudohyphal, and hyphal forms (Fig. 1A); its ability to switch between different but stable phenotypic states, and the way that it retains the ability to mate but apparently loses the ability to go through meiosis to complete the sexual cycle. This research has been greatly facilitated by the derivation of the complete C. albicans genome sequence (Braun et al., 2005), the development of a variety of molecular tools for gene manipulation, and a store of underpinning knowledge of cell biology borrowed from the distantly related model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Berman and Sudbery, 2002; Noble and Johnson, 2007). This review will provide a brief overview of the importance of C. albicans as a public health issue, the experimental tools developed to study its fascinating biology, and some examples of how these have been applied.
Affiliation
Laboratory of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 136-701, Republic of Korea, joonkim@korea.ac.kr.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Journal of microbiology (Seoul, Korea)
ISSN: 1976-3794
Pages: 171-7
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21538235
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12275-011-1064-7
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Candidiasis, Invasive
An important nosocomial fungal infection with species of the genus CANDIDA, most frequently CANDIDA ALBICANS. Invasive candidiasis occurs when candidiasis goes beyond a superficial infection and manifests as CANDIDEMIA, deep tissue infection, or disseminated disease with deep organ involvement.
Candidiasis
Infection with a fungus of the genus CANDIDA. It is usually a superficial infection of the moist areas of the body and is generally caused by CANDIDA ALBICANS. (Dorland, 27th ed)
Candida Albicans
A unicellular budding fungus which is the principal pathogenic species causing CANDIDIASIS (moniliasis).
Candida Tropicalis
A species of MITOSPORIC FUNGI that is a major cause of SEPTICEMIA and disseminated CANDIDIASIS, especially in patients with LYMPHOMA; LEUKEMIA; and DIABETES MELLITUS. It is also found as part of the normal human mucocutaneous flora.
Paronychia
An inflammatory reaction involving the folds of the skin surrounding the fingernail. It is characterized by acute or chronic purulent, tender, and painful swellings of the tissues around the nail, caused by an abscess of the nail fold. The pathogenic yeast causing paronychia is most frequently Candida albicans. Saprophytic fungi may also be involved. The causative bacteria are usually Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, or Streptococcus. (Andrews' Diseases of the Skin, 8th ed, p271)
PubMed Articles
Candida albicans is the major invasive fungal pathogen of humans, causing diseases ranging from superficial mucosal infections to disseminated, systemic infections that are often lifethreatening. We h...
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Regulation of phenotypic transitions in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans.
The human commensal fungus Candida albicans can cause not only superficial infections, but also life-threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals. C. albicans can grow in several morphological...
The antifungal activity of human parotid secretion is species-specific.
Candida albicans is the major fungal colonizer of the oral cavity and causes oral candidiasis in immunocompromised patient populations. While antifungal proteins in saliva have been identified and the...
Detection of Candida albicans by Mass Spectrometric Fingerprinting.
Candida albicans is one of the most frequent causes of fungal infections in humans. Significant correlation between candiduria and invasive candidiasis has previously been described. The existing diag...
Clinical Trials
Caspofungin for the Treatment of Non-blood Candida Infections
Candida is the most common fungal pathogen identified in hospitalized patients. This study will seek to enroll adult patients (18 years of age or older) with invasive Candida infections (...
Prevention of Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis With Lactibiane Candisis 5M®
Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common infection among women that is associated with considerable morbidity and health-care cost. 75% of women will suffer of Candida infection for at l...
Candida Spp. in the Lower Respiratory Tract: Harmless Residents or Pathogen?
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During the past two decades, the frequency of invasive fungal infections has increased dramatically in hospitalised patients throughout the world, and Candida has now emerged as one of the...
Caspofungin Study for Fungal Infections in Adults in Critical Care Settings
Adults admitted to intensive care units are at risk for a variety of complications. One of the most frequent complications is the development of new infections. Infections due to a fungus...
