白念珠菌生物膜及其研究进展

白念珠菌生物对多种传统抗真菌药物高度耐药,日益增多的白念珠菌生物膜相关感染引起抗真菌药物治疗的失败加重了患者及社会的经济负担,这已经成为临床医生所面临的重要问题.该文旨在阐明白念珠菌生物膜的临床重要性,并从多方面阐述白念珠菌生物膜的结构特点、形成机制、防治现状的最新研究进展,为白念珠菌的研究及临床防治策略提供参考.     

白念珠菌耐药机制研究进展CSCD

白念珠菌是侵袭性念珠菌病最常见的致病菌,其耐药问题使临床治疗面临着严峻的挑战。白念珠菌常见的耐药机制包括药物靶点突变或上调、药物外排增加、生物被膜形成等,近年来代谢调节、线粒体功能改变、选择性剪切等机制也受到了广泛关注。了解白念珠菌耐药机制有助于探索研究全新结构的抗真菌药物和开发更多有效的抗耐药真菌策略。该文就白念珠菌耐药机制研究进展进行综述。     

吸毒人群口腔念珠菌的药物敏感性分析

目的了解吸毒人群口腔念珠菌对常用抗真菌药物的敏感性,为临床治疗念珠菌病提供参考资料。方法采用美国CLSI推荐的微量稀释法测定75株念珠菌对4种常用抗真菌药物两性霉素B、5-氟胞嘧啶、氟康唑和酮康唑的药物敏感性。结果 75株吸毒人群口腔念珠菌对两性霉素B、5-氟胞嘧啶、氟康唑和酮康唑的耐药率分别为0%、4%、8%和13.3%(P0.01),对氟康唑和酮康唑的交叉耐药率为8%;非白念珠菌对氟康唑和酮康唑的耐药率高于白念珠菌(P0.05)。结论吸毒人群口腔念珠菌对两性霉素B和5-氟胞嘧啶的敏感性高于对氟康唑和酮康唑的敏感性。吸毒人群口腔念珠菌存在着对氟康唑、酮康唑和5-氟胞嘧啶的天然耐药株和对唑类药物的天然交叉耐药株,且非白念珠菌对氟康唑和酮康唑的耐药率及交叉耐药率高于白念珠菌。     

白念珠菌凋亡诱导研究进展

近年来,白念珠菌为主的真菌感染病例日渐增多,新型抗真菌药物研发成为热点。在原有抗真菌机制的基础上,通过诱导凋亡抗真菌成为目前探寻抗真菌药物作用机制的一个新趋向。本文对目前国内外关于药物诱导白念珠菌凋亡研究做一综述。     

棘白菌素在念珠菌中的耐药性

侵袭性念珠菌病(invasive candidiasis,IC)是住院患者特别是免疫力低下患者重要的感染性疾病。抗真菌药物治疗是最有效的处理方式,但抗真菌药物的种类非常有限,并已出现了多种药物耐药。棘白菌素类药物能够抑制真菌特有的葡聚糖合成酶,因此毒力低、临床疗效好,是治疗IC的一类关键药物。但近几年棘白菌素耐药有上升趋势,并常常表现为多重耐药,给临床治疗带来了巨大挑战。其耐药机制主要包括FKS突变、细胞压力应答、生物膜等。预防用药、腹腔念珠菌病、定植等是导致棘白菌素耐药的危险因素。了解念珠菌棘白菌素耐药的机制和危险因素对临床诊断和治疗决策的制定十分重要。     

土槿乙酸与氟康唑联合抗白念珠菌作用的研究

正白念珠菌(Candida albicans)是一种机会性致病酵母菌,作为侵袭性真菌感染最常见的致病菌,可在免疫功能低下的个体中引发致命感染[1]。唑类抗真菌药物中,特别是氟康唑, 由于其疗效好、毒性小,在临床治疗中应用最多。然而,伴随着氟康唑广泛应用于白念珠菌感染,使得白念珠菌耐药率问题显著增多,不利于疾病治疗[2]。在临床治疗中,新型抗真菌药物的研发总是滞后于耐药性的增加,有效的抗真菌药物相对较少。近年来,研究者通过使用药物联合来克服     

芒果苷协同氟康唑抗耐药白念珠菌作用研究

目的研究芒果苷与氟康唑合用对唑类耐药白念珠菌协同抗真菌的作用和机制。方法采用棋盘式微量稀释法测试芒果苷协同氟康唑对22株耐药白念珠菌的最小抑菌浓度MIC80;时间-杀菌曲线探究两药联用对4株耐药白念珠菌生长的抑制作用;药物生长抑制实验实验探究不同浓度芒果苷和不同浓度氟康唑协同抗耐药白念珠菌药效;通过实时定量RT-PCR检测两药联用时耐药基因CDR1、CDR2、MDR1表达水平。结果芒果苷联合氟康唑可产生协同抗唑类白念珠菌作用,协同指数(FICI)0.5;两药合用对白念珠菌生长可产生抑制作用;两药合用降低耐药基因CDR1表达水平。结论芒果苷与氟康唑合用可产生协同抗唑类耐药白念珠菌作用。     

光滑念珠菌的生物学、流行病学以及耐药机制研究进展

随着HIV感染患者的增多、器官移植、放疗化疗及抗真菌药物的广泛使用,近年来全世界范围内念珠菌感染趋势发生了明显变化,除白念珠菌外,光滑念珠菌在临床上的检出率逐年增加,在部分国家和地区已成为第二常见的侵袭性念珠菌。光滑念珠菌临床分离株通常对一线抗真菌药物高度耐药,由于目前治疗策略匮乏,其造成的系统感染死亡率可高达50%。为了进一步加深人们对光滑念珠菌的认识,研发遏制其感染的诊疗策略,本文综述了近年来光滑念珠菌的流行病学、毒力因子以及耐药机制等方面的进展,为国内同行深入探究其耐药特性和致病机理提供参考。     

致病性念珠菌对常见抗真菌药物的耐药性研究进展

近年来,致病性念珠菌感染引起的侵袭性念珠菌病患者人数逐年增多。白念珠菌仍是引起感染的主要致病菌,但是由非白念念珠菌引起的感染比例显著升高。致病性念珠菌对常见抗真菌药物的耐药现象呈上升趋势,这是导致临床治疗其所致的侵袭性感染失败的重要原因之一。本文就致病性念珠菌耐药性的流行病学以及其耐药机制方面的研究进展进行了介绍。     

白念珠菌耐药机制新进展

近年来对于深部真菌感染的研究报道越来越多,其已日益成为一些重要疾病临床治疗过程中的常见并发症,其中,白念珠菌病的发病率仍居高不下.虽然目前有多种抗真菌药物应用于临床,但其耐药现象愈来愈严重,给临床治疗带来了极大的挑战.近来有关白念珠菌耐药机制的研究有了较新的进展.该文就新发现的白念珠菌的耐药机制,作一概述.     

Antifungals: mechanism of action and resistance, established and novel drugs

Serious fungal infections, caused mostly by opportunistic species, are increasingly common in immunocompromised and other vulnerable patients. The use of antifungal drugs, primarily azoles and polyenes, has increased in parallel. Yet, established agents do not satisfy the medical need completely: azoles are fungistatic and vulnerable to resistance, whereas polyenes cause serious host toxicity. Drugs in clinical development include echinocandins, pneumocandins, and improved azoles. Promising novel agents in preclinical development include several inhibitors of fungal protein, lipid and cell wall syntheses. Recent advances in fungal genomics, combinatorial chemistry, and high-throughput screening may accelerate the antifungal discovery process.     

The activity of echinocandins, amphotericin B and voriconazole against fluconazole-susceptible and fluconazole-resistant Brazilian Candida glabrata isolates

The extensive use of azole antifungal agents has promoted the resistance of Candida spp to these drugs. Candida glabrata is a problematic yeast because it presents a high degree of primary or secondary resistance to fluconazole. In Brazil, C. glabrata has been less studied than other species. In this paper, we compared the activity of three major classes of antifungal agents (azoles, echinocandins and polyenes) against fluconazole-susceptible (FS) and fluconazole-resistant (FR) C. glabrata strains. Cross-resistance between fluconazole and voriconazole was remarkable. Among the antifungal agents, the echinocandins were the most effective against FS and FR C. glabrata and micafungin showed the lowest minimal inhibitory concentrations.     

EPICO 2.0 project. Development of educational therapeutic recommendations using the DELPHI technique on invasive candidiasis in critically ill adult patients in special situations

BackgroundAlthough there has been an improved management of invasive candidiasis in the last decade, still controversial issues remain, especially in different therapeutic critical care scenarios.AimsWe sought to identify the core clinical knowledge and to achieve high agreement recommendations required to care for critically ill adult patients with invasive candidiasis for antifungal treatment in special situations and different scenarios.MethodsSecond prospective Spanish survey reaching consensus by the DELPHI technique, conducted anonymously by electronic e-mail in the first phase to 23 national multidisciplinary experts in invasive fungal infections from five national scientific societies including intensivists, anesthesiologists, microbiologists, pharmacologists and infectious disease specialists, answering 30 questions prepared by a coordination group after a strict review of literature in the last five years. The educational objectives spanned four categories, including peritoneal candidiasis, immunocompromised patients, special situations, and organ failures. The agreement among panelists in each item should be higher than 75% to be selected. In a second phase, after extracting recommendations from the selected items, a meeting was held with more than 60 specialists in a second round invited to validate the preselected recommendations.Measurements and main resultsIn the first phase, 15 recommendations were preselected (peritoneal candidiasis (3), immunocompromised patients (6), special situations (3), and organ failures (3)). After the second round the following 13 were validated: Peritoneal candidiasis (3): Source control and early adequate antifungal treatment is mandatory; empirical antifungal treatment is recommended in secondary nosocomial peritonitis with Candida spp. colonization risk factors and in tertiary peritonitis. Immunocompromised patients (5): consider hepatotoxicity and interactions before starting antifungal treatment with azoles in transplanted patients; treat candidemia in neutropenic adult patients with antifungal drugs at least 14 days after the first blood culture negative and until normalization of neutrophils is achieved. Caspofungin, if needed, is the echinocandin with most scientific evidence to treat candidemia in neutropenic adult patients; caspofungin is also the first choice drug to treat febrile candidemia; in neutropenic patients with candidemia remove catheter. Special situations (2): in moderate hepatocellular failure, patients with invasive candidiasis use echinocandins (preferably low doses of anidulafungin and caspofungin) and try to avoid azoles; in case of possible interactions review all the drugs involved and preferably use anidulafungin. Organ failures (3): echinocandins are the safest antifungal drugs; reconsider the use of azoles in patients under renal replacement therapy; all of the echinocandins to treat patients under continuous renal replacement therapy are accepted and do not require dosage adjustment.ConclusionsTreatment of invasive candidiasis in ICU patients requires a broad range of knowledge and skills as summarized in our recommendations. These recommendations may help to optimize the therapeutic management of these patients in special situations and different scenarios and improve their outcome based on the DELPHI methodology.     

抗侵袭性真菌感染单克隆抗体研究进展

近20多年来,随着免疫缺陷患者的增多,侵袭性真菌感染发病率呈持续上升趋势,死亡率高居不下。现用的抗真菌药物主要有氮唑类、多烯类、棘白菌素类等,存在品种少、真菌耐药性增加和毒副作用大等问题,迫切需要研制新型抗真菌药物。单克隆抗体具有精准靶向的抗真菌作用,兼有调节机体免疫反应的功能,是治疗真菌感染的一种可行且具有独特优势的药物。从作用靶点分类,可以分为靶向真菌表面多糖、毒力因子、蛋白和跨界抗真菌单克隆抗体。从抗体来源分类又可以分为天然抗体和重组抗体。其作用机制包括直接抗真菌作用,即对毒素中和或对真菌的直接抑制作用;以及免疫增强作用,主要是补体的活化以驱动吞噬细胞清除或破坏致病真菌、中性粒细胞调理吞噬作用的激活以及诱导巨噬细胞调理吞噬。本文从药效学等方面总结了目前抗真菌感染单克隆抗体的研究进展,以及存在的问题。此外,针对抗真菌单克隆抗体的新型制备方法与传统制备方法进行了对比,并探讨了未来的发展方向。     

The continuous changes in the aetiology and epidemiology of invasive candidiasis: from familiar <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida albicans</Emphasis> to multiresistant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida auris</Emphasis>

Recent changes in the aetiology and epidemiology of invasive candidiasis have serious implications for current and future diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. The aim of the current review was to discuss the epidemiology of invasive candidiasis, the distribution of Candida species in different regions of the world, the medical concerns of the changing aetiology and the emergence of antifungal resistance. Overall burden of invasive candidiasis remains high, especially in vulnerable persons, such as the elderly, immunosuppressed or debilitated patients. Moreover, there is a progressive shift in the aetiology of invasive candidiasis from Candida albicans to other species of Candida, probably related to the increased use of azole drugs with a clear trend towards increased antifungal resistance. Finally, the emergence and rise of multiresistant species, such as Candida auris or Candida glabrata, is a major threat making necessary invasive candidiasis worldwide surveillances. These changes have serious implications for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of invasive candidiasis. Updated knowledge of the current local epidemiology of invasive candidiasis is critical for the clinical management.     

The role of antifungal susceptibility testing in the management of patients with invasive mycoses

The availability of standardized antifungal susceptibility testing methodologies as well as the definition of interpretative breakpoints have made possible the establishment of useful correlations between in vitro testing data and clinical results with antifungal drugs such as fluconazole and itraconazole in patients with oropharyngeal candidiasis. The results obtained in these studies, however, can not be extrapolated to other organisms or clinical syndromes. Although there has been some recent progress, the interpretations of in vitro and in vivo results obtained in patients suffering cryptococcosis or invasive candidiasis needs to be further defined in order to establish meaningful clinical-laboratory correlations. Furthermore, the method needs to be fully standardized in case of filamentous fungi. It can be anticipated that the development, standardization and validation of in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing will guide clinicians in the management of patients with invasive mycoses.     

Antifungals discovery: an insight into new strategies to combat antifungal resistance

Undeniably, new antifungal treatments are necessary against pathogenic fungi. Fungal infections have significantly increased in recent decades, being highlighted as important causes of morbidity and mortality, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Five main antifungal classes are used: (i) azoles, (ii) echinocandins, (iii) polyenes, (iv) allylamines and (v) pyrimidine analogues. Moreover, the treatment of mycoses has several limitations, such as undesirable side effects, narrow activity spectrum, a small number of targets and fungal resistance, which are still of major concern in clinical practice. The discovery of new antifungals is mostly achieved by the screening of natural or synthetic/semisynthetic chemical compounds. The most recent discoveries in drug resistance mechanism and their avoidance were explored in a review, focusing on different antifungal targets, as well as new agents or strategies, such as combination therapy, that could improve antifungal therapy.

Significance and Impact of the Study

The failure to respond to antifungal therapy is complex and is associated with microbiological resistance and increased expression of virulence in fungal pathogens. Thus, this review offers an overview of current challenges in the treatment of fungal infections associated with increased antifungal drug resistance and the formation of biofilms in these opportunistic pathogens. Furthermore, the most recent and potential strategies to combat fungal pathogens are explored here, focusing on new agents as well as innovative approaches, such as combination therapy between antifungal drugs or with natural compounds.     

Using Aspergillus nidulans To Identify Antifungal Drug Resistance Mutations

Systemic fungal infections contribute to at least 10% of deaths in hospital settings. Most antifungal drugs target ergosterol (polyenes) or its biosynthetic pathway (azoles and allylamines), or beta-glucan synthesis (echinocandins). Antifungal drugs that target proteins are prone to the emergence of resistant strains. Identification of genes whose mutations lead to targeted resistance can provide new information on those pathways. We used Aspergillus nidulans as a model system to exploit its tractable sexual cycle and calcofluor white as a model antifungal agent to cross-reference our results with other studies. Within 2 weeks from inoculation on sublethal doses of calcofluor white, we isolated 24 A. nidulans adaptive strains from sectoring colonies. Meiotic analysis showed that these strains had single-gene mutations. In each case, the resistance was specific to calcofluor white, since there was no cross-resistance to caspofungin (echinocandin). Mutation sites were identified in two mutants by next-generation sequencing. These were confirmed by reengineering the mutation in a wild-type strain using a gene replacement strategy. One of these mutated genes was related to cell wall synthesis, and the other one was related to drug metabolism. Our strategy has wide application for many fungal species, for antifungal compounds used in agriculture as well as health care, and potentially during protracted drug therapy once drug resistance arises. We suggest that our strategy will be useful for keeping ahead in the drug resistance arms race.     

The role of second-generation triazole antifungal agents voriconazole and posaconazole in patients with hematologic malignancies

The second-generation triazoles, voriconazole and posaconazole, have found important roles in the management of invasive fungal infections in high-risk patients. Both agents are more active against Candida albicans and the non-albicans Candida species than the first-generation triazoles. They are active against Aspergillus species, including those species less susceptible to polyenes, and against a variety of non-Aspergillus molds. In contrast to posaconazole, voriconazole has no activity against the zygomycetes, and breakthrough infections have been observed. Both are well absorbed, but considerable intra- and interpatient pharmacokinetic variability has raised the question of therapeutic drug monitoring. Both inhibit hepatic cytochrome P450 isoenzymes, which are important in the metabolism of various drugs coadministered in the management of high-risk patients. Clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of both agents for antifungal prophylaxis and treatment in invasive candidiasis, invasive aspergillosis, and in invasive fungal infections caused by a variety of non-Aspergillus molds. Posaconazole is the only triazole approved for use in the treatment of invasive zygomycosis. Voriconazole is the accepted standard first-line therapy for invasive aspergillosis.