Drug Resistance and Tolerance in Pathogenic Fungi
A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Pathogenesis and Disease Control".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2023) | Viewed by 278
Special Issue Editors
Interests: fungal biofilms and antifungal resistance; one health approach to control resistance drivers; drug repurposing
Interests: invasive fungal diseases; antifungal resistance; in vitro susceptibility testing; one health
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recently, the WHO established a priority fungal pathogens list to strengthen the global response to fungal infections. In fact, fungal infections affect millions of people every year and are responsible for a wide array of clinical presentations, including life-threatening diseases. The treatment of these infections is challenging for many reasons. Our antifungal arsenal is limited to five classes of drugs, of which azole derivatives, polyenes, and echinocandins are the most widely used in clinical practice. Moreover, pathogenic fungi can develop drug resistance through a large variety of mechanisms, including the overexpression of efflux pumps and mutation of genes encoding target proteins, among others. Additionally, existing therapies sometimes fail to treat infections caused by susceptible isolates, a phenomenon that has been linked to antifungal drug tolerance. Finally, cells embedded in fungal biofilms on medical devices or body surfaces are less susceptible than their planktonic counterparts and biofilm-related infections are difficult to eradicate.
As a result, treatment failure due to antifungal tolerance/resistance among fungal pathogens has become a worldwide public health concern, especially with the emergence of azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida spp. and the multidrug resistant Candida auris. Antifungal resistance is also of concern in superficial fungal diseases, especially caused by dermatophytes, as illustrated by the spread of terbinafine-resistant Trichophyton indotinae.
Thus, this Special Issue aims to bring together the current knowledge and new findings on the drivers and molecular mechanisms of antifungal tolerance/resistance in fungal pathogens of humans and animals and present potential control strategies of planktonic/biofilm-associated fungal infections. Original articles and reviews are welcome. New data from the current antifungal pipeline will be also considered.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Débora S. C. M. Castelo-Branco
Prof. Dr. Florent Morio
Dr. Lisa Lombardi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- pathogenic fungi
- antifungal resistance
- fungal biofilms
- environmental resistance drivers
- molecular mechanisms
- drug repurposing
- one health
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