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. Objective: This article reviews the association between the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma in potentially malignant oral lesions with chronic candidal infection and describes mechanisms that may be involved in Candida-associated malignant transformation

Levée de dominance apicale chez la pousse herbacée du noyer : implication de transferts d'information ?

National audienc

Comparison of three differential media for the presumptive identification of yeasts

This study evaluated three differential media, CHROMagar Candida, BiGGY agar and Albicans ID2 agar, for the presumptive identification of yeast species. In total, 215 yeast isolates were included in the study. The sensitivity and specificity of CHROMagar Candida, BiGGY agar and Albicans ID2 agar for the detection of Candida albicans were 100% and 100%, 91% and 92.7%, and 99.2% and 92.7%, respectively. CHROMagar Candida was a reliable tool for the presumptive identification of C. albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei and Candida glabrata. Albicans ID2 agar was useful for the detection of C. albicans

Recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae Expressing P450 in Artificial Digestive Systems: a Model for Biodetoxication in the Human Digestive Environment

The use of genetically engineered microorganisms such as bacteria or yeasts as live vehicles to carry out bioconversion directly in the digestive environment is an important challenge for the development of innovative biodrugs. A system that mimics the human gastrointestinal tract was combined with a computer simulation to evaluate the survival rate and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase activity of a recombinant model of Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing the plant P450 73A1. The yeasts showed a high level of resistance to gastric and small intestinal secretions (survival rate after 4 h of digestion, 95.6% ± 10.1% [n = 4]) but were more sensitive to the colonic conditions (survival rate after 4 h of incubation, 35.9% ± 2.7% [n = 3]). For the first time, the ability of recombinant S. cerevisiae to carry out a bioconversion reaction has been demonstrated throughout the gastrointestinal tract. In the gastric-small intestinal system, 41.0% ± 5.8% (n = 3) of the ingested trans-cinnamic acid was converted into p-coumaric acid after 4 h of digestion, as well as 8.9% ± 1.6% (n = 3) in the stomach, 13.8% ± 3.3% (n = 3) in the duodenum, 11.8% ± 3.4% (n = 3) in the jejunum, and 6.5% ± 1.0% (n = 3) in the ileum. In the large intestinal system, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase activity was detected but was too weak to be quantified. These results suggest that S. cerevisiae may afford a useful host for the development of biodrugs and may provide an innovative system for the prevention or treatment of diseases that escape classical drug action. In particular, yeasts may provide a suitable vector for biodetoxication in the digestive environment

Inulin : fermentation and microbial ecology in the intestinal tract

It is well documented that the indigenous microflora, particularly in the colon, plays an important role as a natural resistance factor against pathogenic microorganisms. The number of beneficial bacteria can be increased by specific non-digestible carbohydrates known as prebiotics. One category of prebiotic is inulin, a non-starch polysaccharide consisting of chains of fructose units coupled by β(2,1)-bonds, frequently terminated by a single glucose moiety naturally occurring as a storage carbohydrate in many plant species. From the results of various in vitro and in vivo studies in animals and humans, inulin can be considered a prebiotic with a bifidogenic factor: it selectively stimulates the in vivo growth of bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Bacteroides at the expense of potential pathogenic microorganisms. Regarding safety, the tolerance level for inulin is far above the bifidogenic level