Publications by authors named "Ana Carolina Moreira da Silva Pires"
Article Synopsis
- - The study explores how zinc affects a fungal respiratory disease, suggesting that zinc plays a crucial role in the infection process by enhancing metabolic activity and viability in planktonic (free-floating) fungal cells.
- - Results indicated that while zinc boosts metabolic activity in biofilm forms of the fungus, it does not increase the overall biomass or the extracellular matrix, which is essential for biofilm stability.
- - The metal chelator TPEN, however, significantly hindered growth and activity in both planktonic and biofilm forms, highlighting the potential for targeting metal ions as a therapeutic strategy against this fungal infection.
In the study of fungal pathogenesis, alternative methods have gained prominence due to recent global legislation restricting the use of mammalian animals in research. The principle of the 3 Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement) is integrated into regulations and guidelines governing animal experimentation in nearly all countries. This principle advocates substituting vertebrate animals with other invertebrate organisms, embryos, microorganisms, or cell cultures.
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