Biofilm formation by fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains is inhibited by fluconazole

Objectives The fungal pathogen Candida albicans forms biofilms on implanted medical devices, resulting in infections with high mortality. Fully developed biofilms, which are adherent communities of microorganisms, characteristically exhibit high resistance to antimicrobial drugs, making treatment of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy 2007-03, Vol.59 (3), p.441-450
Main Authors: Bruzual, Igor, Riggle, Perry, Hadley, Susan, Kumamoto, Carol A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents
Antifungal Agents - pharmacology
Biofilms
Biofilms - drug effects
Biofilms - growth & development
Biological and medical sciences
C. albicans
Candida albicans
Candida albicans - drug effects
Candida albicans - growth & development
Drug resistance
Drug Resistance, Fungal
Fluconazole - pharmacology
Fungal Proteins - genetics
Infections
Inhibitor drugs
MDR1
Medical sciences
Membrane Glycoproteins - genetics
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Transplants & implants
Yeast
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Summary:Objectives The fungal pathogen Candida albicans forms biofilms on implanted medical devices, resulting in infections with high mortality. Fully developed biofilms, which are adherent communities of microorganisms, characteristically exhibit high resistance to antimicrobial drugs, making treatment of device-associated infection problematic. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the addition of the azole antifungal fluconazole on the initiation of biofilm formation by both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant C. albicans strains. Results Our data reported here show that biofilm formation by both fluconazole-susceptible and fluconazole-resistant C. albicans strains was inhibited when fluconazole was present. For the fluconazole-susceptible strains, inhibition of growth due to the presence of the antifungal drug probably prevented the acquisition of high-level fluconazole resistance. However, for fluconazole-resistant strains, the inhibition of biofilm development was unexpected. Conclusions Unexpectedly, fluconazole inhibited biofilm formation by a variety of laboratory isolated and clinically isolated fluconazole-resistant strains.
ISSN:0305-7453
1460-2091
DOI:10.1093/jac/dkl521