Antifungals Flashcards
LO
Outline the mechanisms of action of the major antifungal agents (griseofulvin, amphotericin, imidazole’s, fluorocytosine)
What are some types of fungi that make an enormous contribution to our everyday life?
If applicable, provide examples of the organisms
- edible mushrooms
- mould (e.g.,Penicillium roqueforti)
- Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiaw)
- Mould (Penicillium)
- Other toxins (A. Phalloides)
- Lichens (symbiotic)
- Mycorrhizia (plant growth)
>1.5 million species (but 300 associated with humans)
What type of organisms are fungi?
Eukaryotes (unicellular and multicellular, cell nucleus, etc)
What are fungi incapable of doing?
Incapable of producing food/ not self-sustaining (heterotrophs)-
Lichens are the exception to this as they are symbiotic
Where are fungi present?
They are naturally present in the environment
present as commensals (an organism that uses food supplied in the internal or external environment of the host, without establishing a close association with the host, for instance by feeding on its tissues)
What do fungi cause?
Give an example of this
Cause superficial (‘cosmetic’), (sub)cutaneous and systemic (tissues/organs) = mycoses (a diseases caused by infection with a fungus, such as ringworm or thrush)
How may some fungi infection occur?
Some occur as primary infections but in general only infectious opportunistically
What are the three problematic types of fungi?
Yeast
Moulds
Dermatophytes
What are dermatophytes and what do they cause?
Collection of fungi which share the ability to metabolise the subsist on keratin
Cause superficial infections names after the part of the body involved (in latin)
What is the most common dermatophyte and provide some examples
Most common is tineas
Tineas pedis - athletes foot
Tineas capitis – scalp
Tineas corporis – body
Tineas cruris – groin
Usually only a cosmetic problem (e.g., ‘ringworm’) but hard to eradicate
Fungi can be deadly, what type of people is infections from this found in?
Tell me some hospital stats to support this
Usually in immunocompromised (AIDS, immunosuppressants, radiotherapy, organ transplants, etc.)
And hospital infections: pregnancy, diabetes, antibiotic treatment
Invasive candidiasis mortality rate ~ 40%
Invasive cryptococcosis mortality ~ 30%
Invasive aspergillosis ~ 20%
Tell me about yeast, what type of organism it is, its appearance and how they reproduce?
Unicellular
Form smooth round colonies
Usually white in colour
Reproduce by budding/ fission
State two fungal infections caused by yeast
Candida
Crytococcus
Tell me about Candida
Give some examples
Candida are most clinically relevant and multiple species cause disease
Candida albicans most common- found in pharynx, GI and GU tract, vagina
Candida auris- multi-drug resistance first discovered in 2011
Tell me about cryptococcus
What are the two most common types?
Cryptococcus cause opportunistic infections e.g., meningitis, pneumonia, etc.)
Cryptococcus neoformans and gattii most common
Tell me about the structure of moulds, their appearance and how they reproduce?
Multicellular
long filaments/ colonies appear fuzzy
large variety of colours
Reproduce by spore formation (sexual or asexual)
Where is both mould and spores found?
In soil and decaying vegetation
How diverse are moulds?
Extremely diverse group of organisms, vast majority are non-pathogenic
What are the two major pathogenic groups of moulds?
Two major pathogenic groups
Aspergillus- some multi-drug resistance
Mucorales
What do moulds cause?
Cause rhinosinusitis and various forms of pulmonary infection in immunocompromised patients
The other problem of growing resistance to antifungal drugs ‘a global issue’
Timeline of antifungal development

What makes the fungi cell wall different to eukaryotes?
Cell wall containing glucans and chitin, as well as a cell membrane containing ergosterol
Why are fungal infections more difficult to treat than bacterial infections?
- Grow slowly
- Occur in poorly penetrated tissues (e.g., devitalise or avascular tissue)
What type of treatment do fungal infections usually require?
Whats the issue with this?
Usually require prolonged treatment (can require resistance due to long periods of treatment. Hence why we now use combination therapy to try and overcome this)




























