Publications by authors named "Marta Sanchis"

(Lp) colonizes aquatic environments and is a potential pathogen to humans, causing outbreaks of Legionnaire's disease. It is mainly associated with contaminated cooling towers (CTs). Several regulations, including Spanish legislation (Sl), have introduced the analysis of heterotrophic plate count (HPC) bacteria and spp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The classification of encompasses a collection of basal fungi that have traditionally demonstrated an aversion to modern genetic manipulation techniques. This aversion led to a scarcity of knowledge regarding their biology compared to other fungal groups. However, the emergence of mucormycosis, a fungal disease caused by , has attracted the attention of the clinical field, mainly because available therapies are ineffective for decreasing the fatal outcome associated with the disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mucolares are an ancient group of fungi encompassing the causal agents for the lethal infection mucormycosis. The high lethality rates, the emerging character of this disease, and the broad antifungal resistance of its causal agents are mucormycosis features that are alarming clinicians and researchers. Thus, the research field around mucormycosis is currently focused on finding specific weaknesses and targets in Mucorales for developing new treatments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida is known since long time as a major fish pathogen unable to grow at 37 °C. However, some cases of human infection by putative mesophilic A. salmonicida have been reported.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mucormycosis is an emerging angio-invasive infection caused by Mucorales that presents unacceptable mortality rates. Iron uptake has been related to mucormycosis, since serum iron availability predisposes the host to suffer this infection. In addition, iron uptake has been described as a limiting factor that determines virulence in other fungal infections, becoming a promising field to study virulence in Mucorales.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The increasing number of infections by species of Mucorales and their high mortality constitute an important concern for public health. This study aims to decipher the genetic basis of Mucor circinelloides pathogenicity, which displays virulence in a strain dependent manner. Assuming that genetic differences between strains may be linked to different pathotypes, we have conducted a study to explore genes responsible for virulence in M.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mucorales are an emerging group of human pathogens that are responsible for the lethal disease mucormycosis. Unfortunately, functional studies on the genetic factors behind the virulence of these organisms are hampered by their limited genetic tractability, since they are reluctant to classical genetic tools like transposable elements or gene mapping. Here, we describe an RNAi-based functional genomic platform that allows the identification of new virulence factors through a forward genetic approach firstly described in Mucorales.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Echinocandins are recommended as a first-line therapy for invasive candidiasis. Candida rugosa was recently transferred to the new genus Diutina. We have determined the in vitro killing kinetics of two echinocandins, anidulafungin, and caspofungin and their in vivo efficacy, administering doses of 5 or 10 mg/kg, and 1 or 5 mg/kg, respectively against 2 clinical strains of D.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Mice with weakened immune systems were infected with C. glabrata and given VRC; the reduction of the fungal load in their kidneys was measured to assess how well the treatment worked.
  • * Findings showed that VRC was effective in reducing fungal levels when the drug's minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was below a certain threshold, while it had variable or no effect at higher MICs, suggesting lab data can help predict treatment outcomes for these infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Candida kefyr is an emerging pathogen able to cause disseminated infection, especially in immunocompromised patients. Although guidelines for the treatment of invasive candidiasis have been published, no specific recommendations against C. kefyr are available.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The in vitro activity of posaconazole (PSC) and voriconazole (VRC) was tested by using time-kill studies against 3 strains of Candida lusitaniae. Both drugs showed fungistatic activity against all strains. The efficacy of those compounds was evaluated by reducing kidney fungal burden and by determining (1→3)-β-d-glucan serum levels in a murine model of invasive infection of C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Whereas echinocandins are alternatives for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis, the efficacy of anidulafungin (AFG) against Aspergillus terreus infection has not yet been explored. We have evaluated the in vitro activity, as well as the in vivo efficacy of AFG in neutropenic mice infected by A. terreus species complex.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A case of fungal necrotizing fasciitis that appeared in an immunocompetent Mexican woman after a car accident is described. The patient did not respond to antifungal treatment and died 4 days later. The fungus was molecularly identified as a new species of Apophysomyces, namely, Apophysomyces mexicanus.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study assessed the effectiveness of two antifungal drugs, voriconazole (VRC) and posaconazole (PSC), against Candida guilliermondii in lab experiments.
  • Both drugs demonstrated fungistatic effects, meaning they can inhibit the growth of the fungus, and reduced fungal levels in the kidneys of mice with a weakened immune system.
  • Posaconazole was found to be significantly more effective than voriconazole against one of the fungal strains tested, with both drugs showing effective serum levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF