Mechanisms of Drug Resistance in Fungi and Their Significance in Biofilms

Abstract

Infections caused by opportunistic human fungal pathogens are very common and have shown steady increase in recent years. The typical hosts, which are prone to fungal infections, are those who possess suppressed immune systems due to conditions such as HIV and transplantation surgery. Due to prolonged chemotherapy, fungal cells also develop tolerance to the most commonly used azole antifungals by employing several strategies. Interestingly, biofilms which are routinely formed by fungal cells on medically implanted devices employ different strategies to become highly resistant to antifungals. Apart from the known tactics, newer approaches have revealed novel mechanisms and regulatory circuits that are responsible for the development of multidrug resistance. Overcoming the major clinical hurdle of fungal resistance demands a great deal of knowledge about the function of fungal machinery that is used under drug stress.