The mortality rates of invasive fungal infections remain high because of the limited number of antifungal drugs available and antifungal drug resistance, which can rapidly evolve during treatment. Mutations in key resistance genes such as ERG11 were...
Fungal infections, named mycosis, can cause severe invasive and systemic diseases that can even lead to death. In recent years, epidemiological data have recorded an increase in cases of severe fungal infections, caused mainly by a growing number of...
Antifungal drugs prevent topical or invasive fungal infections (mycoses) either by stopping growth of fungi (termed fungistatic) or by killing the fungal cells (termed fungicidal). Antibiotics also prevent bacterial infections through either bacterio...
The high clinical mortality and economic burden posed by invasive fungal infections (IFIs), along with significant agricultural crop loss caused by various fungal species, has resulted in the widespread use of antifungal agents. Selective drug pressu...
In medical mycology, epigenetic mechanisms are emerging as key regulators of multiple aspects of fungal biology ranging from development, phenotypic and morphological plasticity to antifungal drug resistance. Emerging resistance to the limited therap...
Clinical isolates of Candida yeast are the most common cause of opportunistic fungal infections resistant to certain antifungal drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to detect more effective antifungal agents that would be successful in overcoming such i...
Azole antifungal drugs have been shown to enhance the cytotoxicity of antimitotic drugs in P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-overexpressing-resistant cancer cells. Herein, we examined two azole antifungal drugs, terconazole (TCZ) and butoconazole (BTZ), previous...
Immunodepression, whether due to HIV infection or organ transplantation, has increased human vulnerability to fungal infections. These conditions have created an optimal environment for the emergence of opportunistic infections, which is concomitant...
Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are one of the most significant public health challenges worldwide. Yet, research and communication thereof were left behind for a long time, until the WHO published a priority pathogens list to guide research, devel...
Candida glabrata is a major opportunistic human fungal pathogen causing superficial as well as systemic infections in immunocompromised individuals and several other patient cohorts. C. glabrata represents the second most prevalent cause of candidemi...
Antifungal resistance is a growing concern as it poses a significant threat to public health. Fungal infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in immunocompromised individuals. The limited number of antifungal agents a...
The use of antifungal drugs started in the 1950s with polyenes nystatin, natamycin and amphotericin B-deoxycholate (AmB). Until the present day, AmB has been considered to be a hallmark in the treatment of invasive systemic fungal infections. Neverth...
Drug resistance of filamentous fungi to the commonly used antifungal agents is a major concern in medicine. Therefore, an effective approach to treat several opportunistic fungal infections is the need of the hour. Mentha piperita is used in home rem...
Fungal infections are a growing public health concern, and an increasingly important cause of human mortality, with Candida species being amongst the most frequently encountered of these opportunistic fungal pathogens. Several Candida species are pol...
Current antifungal interventions have often limited efficiency in treating fungal pathogens, particularly those resistant to commercial drugs or fungicides. Antifungal drug repurposing is an alternative intervention strategy, whereby new utility of v...
Control of fungal pathogens is increasingly problematic due to the limited number of effective drugs available for antifungal therapy. Conventional antifungal drugs could also trigger human cytotoxicity associated with the kidneys and liver, includin...
A reliable estimate of Candida parapsilosis antifungal susceptibility in candidemia patients is increasingly important to track the spread of C. parapsilosis bloodstream infections and define the true burden of the ongoing antifungal resistance. A sy...
Background/Objectives: Developing antifungal drugs with lower potential for interactions with food may help to optimize treatment and reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance. Chemometrics uses statistical and mathematical methods to analyze multi...
Invasive Candida infections in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly among extremely preterm neonates. Early treatment with antifungals is critical to improve survival rates and...
The increasing cases of drug resistance and high toxicity associated with the currently used antifungal agents are a worldwide public health concern. There is an urgent need to develop new antifungal drugs with unique target mechanisms. Plant-based c...
This Special Issue is designed to highlight the latest research and development on new antifungal compounds with mechanisms of action different from the ones of polyenes, azoles, and echinocandins. The papers presented here highlight new pathways and...
Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) represent a growing global health threat, particularly for immunocompromised populations, with mortality exceeding 1.5 million deaths annually. Despite their clinical and economic burden—costing billions in hea...
This review explores current advancements and challenges in antifungal therapies amid rising fungal infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients. We detail the limitations of existing antifungal classes—azoles, echinocandins, polyenes...
Life-threatening systemic fungal infections occur in immunocompromised patients at an alarming rate. Current antifungal therapies face challenges like drug resistance and patient toxicity, emphasizing the need for new treatments. Membrane-bound enzym...
Fungal infections, such as candidiasis caused by Candida, pose a problem of growing medical concern. In developed countries, the incidence of Candida infections is increasing due to the higher survival of susceptible populations, such as immunocompro...
We reviewed the licensed antifungal drugs and summarized their mechanisms of action, pharmacological profiles, and susceptibility to specific fungi. Approved antimycotics inhibit 1,3-β-d-glucan synthase, lanosterol 14-α-demethylase, protei...
Garlic (Allium sativa L.) is a traditional plant with antimicrobial activity. This study aimed to discover new antifungal peptides from garlic, identify their structure, and explore the antimicrobial mechanism. Peptides were separated by chromatograp...
Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii are the causative agents of coccidioidomycosis (CM) or Valley Fever, endemic to the alkaline deserts of North and South America. Clinical treatment of CM is predominantly limited to the triazole and polyene drug...
Although polyenes were the first broad spectrum antifungal drugs on the market, after 70 years they are still the gold standard to treat a variety of fungal infections. Polyenes such as amphotericin B have a controversial image. They are the antifung...
Increases in the numbers of immunocompromised patients and the emergence of drug-resistance fungal pathogens have led to the need for new, safe, efficacious antifungal agents. In this study, we designed a histidine-lysine-lysine (HKK) motif and synth...
Fungal infections and, in particular, those caused by species of the Candida genus, are growing at an alarming rate and have high associated rates of mortality and morbidity. These infections, generally referred as candidiasis, range from common supe...
Recently, a large number of nosocomial infections have been caused by an emerging pathogen that is rising as a worldwide issue in human health: Candida auris. This yeast is considered resistant to antifungals of the first-line therapies, and conseque...
Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen that commonly causes nosocomial blood infections in the immunocompromised. Several factors make this pathogen a global threat, including its misidentification as closely related species, its ability to sur...
Due to the increasing prevalence of fungal diseases caused by fungi of the genus Candida and the development of pathogen resistance to available drugs, the need to find new effective antifungal agents has increased. Azole antifungals, which are inhib...
Candida albicans (C. albicans) reigns as a major cause of clinical candidiasis. C. albicans biofilms are known to increase resistance to antifungal agents, making biofilm-related infections particularly challenging to treat. Drug resistance is of par...
While mangrove ecosystems are rich in biodiversity, they are increasingly impacted by climate change and urban pollutants. The current study provides first insights into the emergence of potentially pathogenic yeasts in Hong Kong’s mangroves. S...
Fungal pathogens cause significant human morbidity and mortality globally, where there is a propensity to infect vulnerable people such as the immunocompromised ones. There is increasing evidence of resistance to antifungal drugs, which has significa...
Background: Instances of resistant fungal infection are rising in pulmonary disease, with limited therapeutic options. Therapeutic drug monitoring of azole antifungals has been necessary to ensure safety and efficacy but is considered unnecessary for...
Venoms from ants comprise a rich source of bioactive peptides, including antimicrobial peptides. From the proteome and peptidome of the giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps venom, members of five known classes of antimicrobial peptides were disclosed (e.g...
The resistance among various opportunistic Fusarium species to different antifungal agents has emerged as a cause of public health problems worldwide. Considering the significance of multi-drug resistant (MDR), this paper emphasizes the problems asso...
Despite abundant research in the field of antifungal drug discovery, fungal infections remain a significant healthcare burden. There is an emerging need for the development of novel antifungals since those currently available are limited and do not c...
Nagilactone E, an antifungal agent derived from the root bark of Podocarpus nagi, inhibits 1,3-β glucan synthesis; however, its inhibitory activity is weak. Anethole, the principal component of anise oil, enhances the antifungal activity of nagilacto...
Recently, global health professionals have been significantly challenged by the emergence of Candida auris and its propensity to colonize human skin, persist in the healthcare environment, and cause healthcare-associated outbreaks. Additionally, C. a...
Recently expanded reports of multidrug-resistant fungal infections underscore the need to develop new and more efficient methods for antifungal drug discovery. A ubiquitous problem in natural product drug discovery campaigns is the rediscovery of kno...
Background: Invasive fungal infections significantly contribute to mortality and morbidity rates. Despite the presence of all four major classes of antifungal medications, it is estimated that these infections result in the death of 1.5 million peopl...
Currently, the spread of fungal infections is becoming an urgent problem. Fungi of the Candida genus are opportunistic microorganisms that cause superficial and life-threatening systemic candidiasis in immunocompromised patients. The list of antifung...
The high mortality associated with invasive fungal infections, narrow spectrum of available antifungals, and increasing evolution of antifungal resistance necessitate the development of alternative therapies. Host defense peptides are regarded as the...
Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of Aspergillus disease recommend a multi-test approach including CT scans, culture, fungal biomarker tests, microscopy and fungal PCR. The first-line treatment of confirmed invasive aspergillosis (IA) consis...
Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen responsible for hospital outbreaks of invasive candidiasis associated with high mortality. The treatment of these mycoses is a clinical challenge due to the high resistance levels of this species to curren...
Fusarium species are filamentous fungi that cause a variety of infections in humans. Because they are commonly resistant to many antifungal drugs currently available in clinical settings, research into alternative targets in fungal cells and therapeu...
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