Molecular mechanisms that govern infection and antifungal resistance in Mucorales.
Microbiol Mol Biol Rev
; 88(1): e0018822, 2024 Mar 27.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38445820
ABSTRACT
SUMMARYThe World Health Organization has established a fungal priority pathogens list that includes species critical or highly important to human health. Among them is the order Mucorales, a fungal group comprising at least 39 species responsible for the life-threatening infection known as mucormycosis. Despite the continuous rise in cases and the poor prognosis due to innate resistance to most antifungal drugs used in the clinic, Mucorales has received limited attention, partly because of the difficulties in performing genetic manipulations. The COVID-19 pandemic has further escalated cases, with some patients experiencing the COVID-19-associated mucormycosis, highlighting the urgent need to increase knowledge about these fungi. This review addresses significant challenges in treating the disease, including delayed and poor diagnosis, the lack of accurate global incidence estimation, and the limited treatment options. Furthermore, it focuses on the most recent discoveries regarding the mechanisms and genes involved in the development of the disease, antifungal resistance, and the host defense response. Substantial advancements have been made in identifying key fungal genes responsible for invasion and tissue damage, host receptors exploited by the fungus to invade tissues, and mechanisms of antifungal resistance. This knowledge is expected to pave the way for the development of new antifungals to combat mucormycosis. In addition, we anticipate significant progress in characterizing Mucorales biology, particularly the mechanisms involved in pathogenesis and antifungal resistance, with the possibilities offered by CRISPR-Cas9 technology for genetic manipulation of the previously intractable Mucorales species.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mucorales
/
Mucormycosis
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Microbiol Mol Biol Rev
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
MICROBIOLOGIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: