China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
The Potential of Medicinal Plants as Treatments for Infections Caused by Aspergillus spp.
Published in Namrita Lall, Medicinal Plants for Cosmetics, Health and Diseases, 2022
Tefo K. Pule, Marco N. De Canha, Namrita Lall, Quenton Kritzinger
Alternative routes of entry include skin wounds and ingestion of contaminated foods, and in some cases, the fungi become opportunistic and pathogenic by infecting individuals during surgery (Xavier et al., 2008). Although Aspergillus spp. are usually harmless to healthy individuals, there have been some reports which suggest that immunocompromised individuals have succumbed to Aspergillus infections (Li, Lu, and Meng, 2019; Latgé and Chamilos, 2020). This occurs when Aspergillus strains parasitize the human body. Depending on the route of entry of the fungus, symptoms can manifest as skin lesions, hypersensitive reactions, chronic pulmonary infections, and other acute life-threatening infections (Li, Lu, and Meng, 2019).
Host-Parasite Relationships
Published in Julius P. Kreier, Infection, Resistance, and Immunity, 2022
Parasitism is a life-style that has been adopted by many types of living things. There are parasitic forms among most groups of multicellular plants and animals, among the fungi, and in most groups of unicellular organisms. All viruses are parasites. There are many species of parasites which inhabit the bodies of plants and animals. Examples of parasitic flowering plants are dodder, indian pipe, and mistletoe. Various species of hookworms, ascarids, and trichinella are common in humans and other animals, and many species of nematode infest the roots of plants. The organism that causes athlete′s foot is a parasitic fungus. Unicellular protozoa cause malaria, dysentery and other diseases. A large variety of species of bacteria are parasitic; anthrax, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and brucellosis, for example, are diseases caused by parasitic bacteria (Figure 2.1).
Fungi and Water
Published in Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy, Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease, 2022
Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy
Fungi are extraordinary eukaryotic organisms which are neither plants nor animals, and play important roles on this planet. Fungi are both friends and foes towards humans, animals, and plants. Without fungi, other organisms cannot live normally. Fungi are strong decomposers, essential for natural recycling, helping to maintain ecology and equilibrated life on earth. Fungi include mushrooms, yeasts, and molds, the first of which are macro-organisms and the other two, microorganisms. Yeasts are single cells while molds are multi-cells in the form of filaments.
Candida auris biofilm: a review on model to mechanism conservation
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2023
Arsha Khari, Biswambhar Biswas, Garima Gangwar, Anil Thakur, Rekha Puria
Earlier, C. auris was shown to have a filamentous morphology in cultures on YEPD medium from mouse liver, kidney, brain, lung, and spleen specimens that had invasive candidiasis [41]. When other fungi are subjected to triggers i.e. environmental factors, such as temperature, nutrient limitation, and pH changes, they form filaments but C. auris fails to do it on exposure to triggers. Interestingly, it was observed that under the genotoxic effect, its DNA gets damaged and it starts forming filaments. This may occur due to the interaction of this fungus with the host immune response or upon antifungal treatment. According to the literature, some genes such as FLO11, EED1, HWP1, HWP2 or ECE1 which cause filamentation in S. cerevisiae and C. albicans are missing from the C. auris genome. Though we did not find HWP2 on orthologs analysis but HWP1exists in C. auris’ genome. In C. albicans, tup1∆ cells trigger the formation of constitutive filamentation but not in C. auris.
Ligand-based design and synthesis of N'-Benzylidene-3,4-dimethoxybenzohydrazide derivatives as potential antimicrobial agents; evaluation by in vitro, in vivo, and in silico approaches with SAR studies
Published in Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, 2022
Rogy R. Ezz Eldin, Marwa A. Saleh, Mohammad Hayal Alotaibi, Reem K. Alsuair, Yahya A. Alzahrani, Feras A. Alshehri, Amany F. Mohamed, Shaimaa M. Hafez, Azza Ali Althoqapy, Seham K. Khirala, Mona M. Amin, Yousuf A. F, Azza H. AbdElwahab, Mohamed S. Alesawy, Ayman Abo Elmaaty, Ahmed A. Al-Karmalawy
Mostly, humans coexist peacefully with the microorganisms that surround them. But, when the immune system is compromised or pathogen concentrations reach a critically high density, an infection may occur1. The considerable efforts devoted to microbial diseases diagnosis and treatment during the past 50 years have driven spectacular gains. Hence, a range of therapeutic intervention strategies was introduced for clinical practice2. Besides, many studies have looked over likely correlations between gut microbiota and intestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases, and Crohn’s disease3. Moreover, bacterial pneumonia was possibly the main cause of death among the elderly, until the mid-twenty century. However, mortality rates from bacterial infections have been lowered by ameliorated sanitation, vaccines, and antibiotics4. As strategies to curb bacterial infections in humans progressed, fungi became one of the most hazardous pathogens. Yeasts and moulds are now among the top ten pathogens frequently isolated from patients in intensive care units1,5.
Perillaldehyde Protects Against Aspergillus fumigatus Keratitis by Reducing Fungal Load and Inhibiting Inflammatory Cytokines and LOX-1
Published in Current Eye Research, 2022
Mengting He, Jia You, Xing Liu, Xudong Peng, Cui Li, Shanshan Yang, Qiang Xu, Jing Lin, Guiqiu Zhao
Perillaldehyde (PAE) is the main component of essential oil derived from perilla plant (Perilla frutescens), which has valued us due to its extensive antifungal, anti-inflammatory functions in fighting against infectious diseases.6 Both fungal virulence factors and excessive inflammation can lead to corneal tissue damage.7 Fungal infections include the adhesion to host cells, the growth of hyphae, and the formation of biofilm, which lead to the invasion of fungi and the aggravation of diseases.8–10 Researches revealed that PAE was able to inhibit the growth of Candida albicans (C. albicans) in vitro and it could also interfere with ergosterol biosynthesis, which can lead to the destruction of biofilm of Aspergillus niger.11–13 Our previous studies also verified that PAE had an inhibitory effect on the growth of A. fumigatus14. In addition, the excessive secretion of inflammatory cytokines in FK can exacerbate corneal damage.15 In latest studies, PAE was confirmed to decrease the number of immune cells like neutrophils and macrophages in mice infected with C. albicans and alleviate the overexpression of inflammatory factors in cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury.16,17