Abstract
Candida species are both opportunistic fungal pathogens and common members of the human mycobiome. Over the years, the main focus of the fungal field has been on understanding the pathogenic potential and disease manifestation of these organisms. Therefore, understanding of their commensal lifestyle, interactions with host epithelial barriers, and initial transition into pathogenesis is less developed. In this review, we will describe the current knowledge on the commensal lifestyle of these fungi, how they are able to adhere to and colonize host epithelial surfaces, compete with other members of the microbiota, and interact with the host immune response, as well as their transition into opportunistic pathogens by invading the gastrointestinal epithelium.
Highlights
Candida species are opportunistic fungal pathogens and common members of the human mycobiome [1,2,3]
These observations combined with the fact that C. albicans is able to very successfully colonize the gastrointestinal tract of humans [8,78,79,80], suggest that distinct adhesins are required to successfully interact with the different environmental niches encountered by C. albicans and that multiple adhesins might be required for intestinal colonization
Candida can establish an intimate and primarily benign relationship with the host, disturbances caused by antibiotics [21,142], damage of host epithelial barriers [143,144,145], or immune suppression [16] can lead to Candida overgrowth, invasion, and a transition to a pathogenic state
Summary
Candida species are opportunistic fungal pathogens and common members of the human mycobiome [1,2,3]. Primarily Candida albicans, are early colonizers acquired at or near birth primarily by physical contact [4,5] These organisms are able to colonize the skin [6], as well as the gastrointestinal [7,8], and reproductive tracts of humans [9,10]. C. albicans is responsible for an unacceptably high number of symptomatic infections yearly that range from superficial (i.e., skin and mucous membranes) to invasive (i.e., internal organs) [7,16,17] Most of these infections occur in immunocompromised individuals and originate from the gastrointestinal tract [18,19,20,21,22,23]. We describe the current knowledge of Candida colonization and commensal lifestyle, with a brief discussion of invasion of epithelial barriers, primarily in the gastrointestinal tract
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