Alkaloids solenopsins from fire ants display and activity against the yeast .

The urgency surrounding as a public health threat is highlighted by both the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) that categorized this species as a priority fungal pathogen. Given the current limitations of antifungal therapy for , particularly due to its multiple resistance to the current antifungals, the identification of new drugs is of paramount importance. Some alkaloids abundant in the venom of the red invasive fire ant (), known as solenopsins, have garnered attention as potent inhibitors of bacterial biofilms, and there are no studies demonstrating such effects against fungal pathogens.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is the major pattern recognition receptor triggering the protective effect of a extracellular vesicle-based vaccine prototype in murine systemic candidiasis.

Systemic candidiasis remains a significant public health concern worldwide, with high mortality rates despite available antifungal drugs. Drug-resistant strains add to the urgency for alternative therapies. In this context, vaccination has reemerged as a prominent immune-based strategy.

Morphological and pathogenic investigation of the emerging fungal threat .

Unlabelled: is a highly fatal fungal pathogen affecting individuals with advanced HIV disease. Molecular patterns and ultrastructural aspects of are unknown, and pathogenic models have not been investigated in detail. Since the cell wall of fungi is a determinant for interaction with the host and antifungal development, we characterized the ultrastructural aspects of and the general properties of cell wall components under different conditions of growth and .

Corrected and republished from: "Extracellular Vesicle Formation in Impacts Fungal Virulence".

Small molecules are components of fungal extracellular vesicles (EVs), but their biological roles are only superficially known. is a eukaryotic gene that is required for the activity of benzimidazoles against . In this study, during the phenotypic characterization of mutants expected to lack expression, we observed a reduced EV production.

Traversing the Cell Wall: The Chitinolytic Activity of Extracellular Vesicles Facilitates Their Release.

is the causative agent of histoplasmosis. Treating this fungal infection conventionally has significant limitations, prompting the search for alternative therapies. In this context, fungal extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold relevant potential as both therapeutic agents and targets for the treatment of fungal infections.

Vaccine development for pathogenic fungi: current status and future directions.

Introduction: Fungal infections are caused by a broad range of pathogenic fungi that are found worldwide with different geographic distributions, incidences, and mortality rates. Considering that there are relatively few approved medications available for combating fungal diseases and no vaccine formulation commercially available, multiple groups are searching for new antifungal drugs, examining drugs for repurposing and developing antifungal vaccines, in order to control deaths, sequels, and the spread of these complex infections.

Areas Covered: This review provides a summary of advances in fungal vaccine studies and the different approaches under development, such as subunit vaccines, whole organism vaccines, and DNA vaccines, as well as studies that optimize the use of adjuvants.

Cyclosporine Affects the Main Virulence Factors of In Vitro.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of cyclosporine on the morphology, cell wall structure, and secretion characteristics of . The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of cyclosporine was found to be 2 µM (2.4 µg/mL) for the H99 strain.

Pathogenicity & virulence of - A multifaceted organism adapted to intracellular environments.

Histoplasmosis is a systemic mycosis caused by the thermally dimorphic fungus . Although healthy individuals can develop histoplasmosis, the disease is particularly life-threatening in immunocompromised patients, with a wide range of clinical manifestations depending on the inoculum and virulence of the infecting strain. In this review, we discuss the established virulence factors and pathogenesis traits that make highly adapted to a wide variety of hosts, including mammals.

Extracellular Vesicle Formation in Cryptococcus deuterogattii Impacts Fungal Virulence and Requires the Gene.

Small molecules are components of fungal extracellular vesicles (EVs), but their biological roles are only superficially known. is a eukaryotic gene that is required for the activity of benzimidazoles against Cryptococcus deuterogattii. In this study, during the phenotypic characterization of mutants lacking expression, we observed that this gene was required for EV production.

Host cell membrane microdomains and fungal infection.

Lipid microdomains or lipid rafts are dynamic and tightly ordered regions of the plasma membrane. In mammalian cells, they are enriched in cholesterol, glycosphingolipids, Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored and signalling-related proteins. Several studies have suggested that mammalian pattern recognition receptors are concentrated or recruited to lipid domains during host-pathogen association to enhance the effectiveness of host effector processes.