Candida parapsilosis: from Genes to the Bedside

• Published in: Clinical microbiology reviews Vol. 32; no. 2
• Main Authors: Tóth, Renáta, Nosek, Jozef, Mora-Montes, Héctor M, Gabaldon, Toni, Bliss, Joseph M, Nosanchuk, Joshua D, Turner, Siobhán A, Butler, Geraldine, Vágvölgyi, Csaba, Gácser, Attila
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 20-03-2019
• Subjects: Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; Antifungal Agents - therapeutic use; Candida parapsilosis - drug effects; Candida parapsilosis - genetics; Candida parapsilosis - pathogenicity; Candidiasis - drug therapy; Candidiasis - epidemiology; Cross Infection - drug therapy; Cross Infection - epidemiology; Cross Infection - microbiology; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Incidence; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Review; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Analysis, RNA; host response; antifungal; epidemiology; genome; pathogenicity; treatment; virulence; experimental tools; Candida parapsilosis
• ISSN: 0893-8512; 1098-6618
• DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00111-18

Patients with suppressed immunity are at the highest risk for hospital-acquired infections. Among these, invasive candidiasis is the most prevalent systemic fungal nosocomial infection. Over recent decades, the combined prevalence of non-
species outranked
infections in several geographical regions worldwide, highlighting the need to understand their pathobiology in order to develop effective treatment and to prevent future outbreaks.
is the second or third most frequently isolated
species from patients. Besides being highly prevalent, its biology differs markedly from that of
, which may be associated with
' increased incidence. Differences in virulence, regulatory and antifungal drug resistance mechanisms, and the patient groups at risk indicate that conclusions drawn from
pathobiology cannot be simply extrapolated to
Such species-specific characteristics may also influence their recognition and elimination by the host and the efficacy of antifungal drugs. Due to the availability of high-throughput, state-of-the-art experimental tools and molecular genetic methods adapted to
, genome and transcriptome studies are now available that greatly contribute to our understanding of what makes this species a threat. In this review, we summarize 10 years of findings on
pathogenesis, including the species' genetic properties, transcriptome studies, host responses, and molecular mechanisms of virulence. Antifungal susceptibility studies and clinician perspectives are discussed. We also present regional incidence reports in order to provide an updated worldwide epidemiology summary.