Abstract
Human fungal pathogens particularly of Candida species are one of the major causes of hospital acquired infections in immunocompromised patients. The limited arsenal of antifungal drugs to treat Candida infections with concomitant evolution of multidrug resistant strains further complicates the management of these infections. Therefore, deployment of novel strategies to surmount the Candida infections requires immediate attention. The human body is a dynamic ecosystem having microbiota usually involving symbionts that benefit from the host, but in turn may act as commensal organisms or affect positively (mutualism) or negatively (pathogenic) the physiology and nourishment of the host. The composition of human microbiota has garnered a lot of recent attention, and despite the common occurrence of Candida spp. within the microbiota, there is still an incomplete picture of relationships between Candida spp. and other microorganism, as well as how such associations are governed. These relationships could be important to have a more holistic understanding of the human microbiota and its connection to Candida infections. Understanding the mechanisms behind commensalism and pathogenesis is vital for the development of efficient therapeutic strategies for these Candida infections. The concept of host-microbiota crosstalk plays critical roles in human health and microbiota dysbiosis and is responsible for various pathologies. Through this review, we attempted to analyze the types of human microbiota and provide an update on the current understanding in the context of health and Candida infections. The information in this article will help as a resource for development of targeted microbial therapies such as pre-/pro-biotics and microbiota transplant that has gained advantage in recent times over antibiotics and established as novel therapeutic strategy.
Highlights
Invasive fungal infections may be life-threatening due to occurrence of diabetes and immuno-compromization caused by AIDS, cancer, organ transplants, corticosteroids, postsurgical care, broad-spectrum antibiotic use, etc. [1]
Many large-scale projects such as Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract (MetaHIT) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Human Microbiome Project examining the gut microbiota have attracted considerable interest due to the abundance and diversity of bacterial microbiota existing in the gut [22,76]
Taurocholic acid (TCA) and taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA) were found to be upregulated in this metabolomics study, and in vitro incubation of C. albicans with these metabolites revealed a significant increase in fungal growth and hyphal morphogenesis [109,110,111]
Summary
Invasive fungal infections may be life-threatening due to occurrence of diabetes and immuno-compromization caused by AIDS, cancer, organ transplants, corticosteroids, postsurgical care, broad-spectrum antibiotic use, etc. [1]. Among infections caused by these opportunistic fungal pathogens, Candida species are responsible for the most threatening, invasive mycotic infection and candidiasis. Over the past two decades, many non-Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species have emerged as significant pathogens of clinical importance [2,3]. These species are a highly diverse group of organisms and are fundamentally different from each other, including C. albicans, at the biological level [4]. A number of NCAC species are recognized to exhibit intrinsic resistance to antifungals Because of their evolutionary similarity to their human hosts, fungal pathogens create additional therapeutic challenges when designing interventions. Among nearly 700 species found in the oral cavity, about 54% have been cultivated and named, 14% are cultivated but unnamed, and 32% are recognized as unrefined phylotypes (from the Human Oral Microbiome Database) [10]
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