PDR Transporter Is Involved in the Innate Azole Resistance of the Human Fungal Pathogen .

is arguably the most common species complex (FSSC) species associated with human infections. Invasive fusariosis is a life-threatening fungal infection that is difficult to treat with conventional azole antifungals. Azole drug resistance is often caused by the increased expression of pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters of the ABCG sub-family.

Bgl2p, Ecm33p, and Als1p proteins are involved in adhesion to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite.

: is an opportunistic pathogen that causes oral candidiasis. A previous study showed that Bgl2p and Ecm33p may mediate the interaction between the yeast and saliva-coated hydroxyapatite (SHA; a model for the tooth surface). This study investigated the roles of these cell wall proteins in the adherence of to SHA beads.

A 23 bp Promoter Deletion Associated With Voriconazole Resistance in Clinical and Environmental Isolates of .

In the fungal pathogen , resistance to azole antifungals is often linked to mutations in , a gene that encodes the azole antifungal drug target lanosterol 14α-demethylase. The aim of this study was to investigate whether similar changes could be associated with azole resistance in a Malaysian species complex (FSSC) isolate collection. Most (11 of 15) clinical FSSC isolates were and the majority (6 of 10) of environmental isolates were strains.

Nano-hydroxyapatite mineralized silk fibroin porous scaffold for tooth extraction site preservation.

Objective: To fabricate a novel nano-hydroxyapatite mineralized silk fibroin (MSF) scaffold in order to diminish the resorption of alveolar ridge and accelerate new bone formation within tooth sockets. Also, to investigate the biocompatibility and osteogenic ability of the MSF in vitro, and the effect of site preservation of the MSF graft in post-extractive sockets in vivo.

Methods: SEM, EDX, FTIR and XRD were used to analyze the mineral crystals deposited on the silk fibroin (SF) surface.

Role of Ectopic Gene Conversion in the Evolution of a Pleiotropic Drug Resistance Transporter Family.

Gene duplications enable the evolution of novel gene function, but strong positive selection is required to preserve advantageous mutations in a population. This is because frequent ectopic gene conversions (EGCs) between highly similar, tandem-duplicated, sequences, can rapidly remove fate-determining mutations by replacing them with the neighboring parent gene sequences. Unfortunately, the high sequence similarities between tandem-duplicated genes severely hamper empirical studies of this important evolutionary process, because deciphering their correct sequences is challenging.

Revisiting the association between candidal infection and carcinoma, particularly oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Tobacco and alcohol are risk factors associated with cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract, but increasingly the role of infection and chronic inflammation is recognized as being significant in cancer development. Bacteria, particularly Helicobacter pylori, and viruses such as members of the human papilloma virus family and hepatitis B and C are strongly implicated as etiological factors in certain cancers. There is less evidence for an association between fungi and cancer, although it has been recognized for many years that white patches on the oral mucosa, which are infected with Candida, have a greater likelihood of undergoing malignant transformation than those that are not infected.