Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Oct;8(10):1325-37.
doi: 10.2217/fmb.13.101.

Mechanisms of Candida biofilm drug resistance

Heather T Taff  1 , Kaitlin F Mitchell, Jessica A Edward, David R Andes
Affiliations
Review

Mechanisms of Candida biofilm drug resistance

Heather T Taff et al. Future Microbiol. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Candida commonly adheres to implanted medical devices, growing as a resilient biofilm capable of withstanding extraordinarily high antifungal concentrations. As currently available antifungals have minimal activity against biofilms, new drugs to treat these recalcitrant infections are urgently needed. Recent investigations have begun to shed light on the mechanisms behind the profound resistance associated with the biofilm mode of growth. This resistance appears to be multifactorial, involving both mechanisms similar to conventional, planktonic antifungal resistance, such as increased efflux pump activity, as well as mechanisms specific to the biofilm lifestyle. A unique biofilm property is the production of an extracellular matrix. Two components of this material, β-glucan and extracellular DNA, promote biofilm resistance to multiple antifungals. Biofilm formation also engages several stress response pathways that impair the activity of azole drugs. Resistance within a biofilm is often heterogeneous, with the development of a subpopulation of resistant persister cells. In this article we review the molecular mechanisms underlying Candida biofilm antifungal resistance and their relative contributions during various growth phases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Candida albicans biofilm resistance mechansisms
Resistance mechanisms at the (A) community and (B) cellular level.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Mah T. Biofilm-specific antibiotic resistance. Future Microbiol. 2012;7(9):1061–1072. - PubMed
    1. Romling U, Balsalobre C. Biofilm infections, their resilience to therapy and innovative treatment strategies. J Intern Med. 2012;272(6):541–561. - PubMed
    1. Fanning S, Mitchell AP. Fungal biofilms. PLoS Pathog. 2012;8(4):e1002585. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chandra J, Kuhn DM, Mukherjee PK, Hoyer LL, McCormick T, Ghannoum MA. Biofilm formation by the fungal pathogen Candida albicans: development, architecture, and drug resistance. J Bacteriol. 2001;183(18):5385–5394. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Douglas LJ. Candida biofilms and their role in infection. Trends Microbiol. 2003;11(1):30–36. - PubMed

Substances

  NODES
COMMUNITY 2
INTERN 1
twitter 2