Intestinal bacteria—a powerful weapon for fungal infections treatment

Abstract

The morbidity and mortality of invasive fungal infections are rising gradually. In recent years, fungi have quietly evolved stronger defense capabilities and increased resistance to antibiotics, posing huge challenges to maintaining physical health. Therefore, developing new drugs and strategies to combat these invasive fungi is crucial. There are a large number of microorganisms in the intestinal tract of mammals, collectively referred to as intestinal microbiota. At the same time, these native microorganisms co-evolve with their hosts in symbiotic relationship. Recent researches have shown that some probiotics and intestinal symbiotic bacteria can inhibit the invasion and colonization of fungi. In this paper, we review the mechanism of some intestinal bacteria affecting the growth and invasion of fungi by targeting the virulence factors, quorum sensing system, secreting active metabolites or regulating the host anti-fungal immune response, so as to provide new strategies for resisting invasive fungal infection.