Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health Threat
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 immunocompromised patients and the emergence of fu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Biomedicines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/4/1063 |
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| author | Antonio Vitiello Francesco Ferrara Mariarosaria Boccellino Annarita Ponzo Carla Cimmino Emilio Comberiati Andrea Zovi Salvatore Clemente Michela Sabbatucci |
| author_facet | Antonio Vitiello Francesco Ferrara Mariarosaria Boccellino Annarita Ponzo Carla Cimmino Emilio Comberiati Andrea Zovi Salvatore Clemente Michela Sabbatucci |
| author_sort | Antonio Vitiello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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 immunocompromised patients and the emergence of fungal pathogenic forms that are increasingly resistant to antimycotic drug treatments. Consequently, an increase in the incidence of mortality due to fungal infections has also been observed. Among the most drug-resistant fungal forms are those belonging to the <i>Candida</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i> spp. Some pathogens are widespread globally, while others are endemic in some areas only. In addition, some others may represent a health threat for some specific subpopulations and not for the general public. In contrast to the extensive therapeutic armamentarium available for the antimicrobial chemotherapeutic treatment of bacteria, for fungal infections there are only a few classes of antimycotic drugs on the market, such as polyenes, azoles, echinocandins, and a few molecules are under trial. In this review, we focused on the systemic mycosis, highlighted the antifungal drug compounds available in the pipeline, and analyzed the main molecular mechanisms for the development of antifungal resistance to give a comprehensive overview and increase awareness on this growing health threat. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:13:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db059594bcb74cfb950217f9d68a995c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:13:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-db059594bcb74cfb950217f9d68a995c2023-11-17T18:26:01ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592023-03-01114106310.3390/biomedicines11041063Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health ThreatAntonio Vitiello0Francesco Ferrara1Mariarosaria Boccellino2Annarita Ponzo3Carla Cimmino4Emilio Comberiati5Andrea Zovi6Salvatore Clemente7Michela Sabbatucci8Directorate General for Health Prevention, Italian Ministry of Health, Viale Ribotta 5, 00144 Rome, ItalyPharmaceutical Department, Asl Napoli 3 Sud, 80059 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Precision Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Precision Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, ItalyDirectorate General for Health Prevention, Italian Ministry of Health, Viale Ribotta 5, 00144 Rome, ItalyDirectorate General for Hygiene, Food Safety and Nutrition, Ministry of Health, Viale Giorgio Ribotta 5, 00144 Rome, ItalyDirectorate General for Health Prevention, Italian Ministry of Health, Viale Ribotta 5, 00144 Rome, ItalyDepartment Infectious Diseases, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, ItalyFungal 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 immunocompromised patients and the emergence of fungal pathogenic forms that are increasingly resistant to antimycotic drug treatments. Consequently, an increase in the incidence of mortality due to fungal infections has also been observed. Among the most drug-resistant fungal forms are those belonging to the <i>Candida</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i> spp. Some pathogens are widespread globally, while others are endemic in some areas only. In addition, some others may represent a health threat for some specific subpopulations and not for the general public. In contrast to the extensive therapeutic armamentarium available for the antimicrobial chemotherapeutic treatment of bacteria, for fungal infections there are only a few classes of antimycotic drugs on the market, such as polyenes, azoles, echinocandins, and a few molecules are under trial. In this review, we focused on the systemic mycosis, highlighted the antifungal drug compounds available in the pipeline, and analyzed the main molecular mechanisms for the development of antifungal resistance to give a comprehensive overview and increase awareness on this growing health threat.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/4/1063antifungaldrugsfungal infectionsmycosisantimicrobial resistancemolecular mechanisms |
| spellingShingle | Antonio Vitiello Francesco Ferrara Mariarosaria Boccellino Annarita Ponzo Carla Cimmino Emilio Comberiati Andrea Zovi Salvatore Clemente Michela Sabbatucci Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health Threat Biomedicines antifungal drugs fungal infections mycosis antimicrobial resistance molecular mechanisms |
| title | Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health Threat |
| title_full | Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health Threat |
| title_fullStr | Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health Threat |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health Threat |
| title_short | Antifungal Drug Resistance: An Emergent Health Threat |
| title_sort | antifungal drug resistance an emergent health threat |
| topic | antifungal drugs fungal infections mycosis antimicrobial resistance molecular mechanisms |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/4/1063 |
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