Journal of Fungi Review Oral Candidiasis: A Disease of Opportunity 1, 1, 1, Taissa Vila y , Ahmed S. Sultan y , Daniel Montelongo-Jauregui y and Mary Ann Jabra-Rizk 1,2,* 1 Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA;
[email protected] (T.V.);
[email protected] (A.S.S.);
[email protected] (D.M.-J.) 2 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +1-410-706-0508; Fax: +1-410-706-0519 These authors contributed equally to the work. y Received: 13 December 2019; Accepted: 13 January 2020; Published: 16 January 2020 Abstract: Oral candidiasis, commonly referred to as “thrush,” is an opportunistic fungal infection that commonly affects the oral mucosa. The main causative agent, Candida albicans, is a highly versatile commensal organism that is well adapted to its human host; however, changes in the host microenvironment can promote the transition from one of commensalism to pathogen. This transition is heavily reliant on an impressive repertoire of virulence factors, most notably cell surface adhesins, proteolytic enzymes, morphologic switching, and the development of drug resistance. In the oral cavity, the co-adhesion of C. albicans with bacteria is crucial for its persistence, and a wide range of synergistic interactions with various oral species were described to enhance colonization in the host. As a frequent colonizer of the oral mucosa, the host immune response in the oral cavity is oriented toward a more tolerogenic state and, therefore, local innate immune defenses play a central role in maintaining Candida in its commensal state.