Candida albicans is a pathogenic fungus capable of switching its morphology between yeast-like cells and filamentous hyphae and can associate with bacteria to form mixed biofilms resistant to antibiotics. In these structures, the fungal milieu can play a protective function for bacteria as has recently been reported for C. albicans and a periodontal pathogen—Porphyromonas gingivalis. Our current study aimed to determine how this type of mutual microbe protection within the mixed biofilm affects the contacting host cells. To analyze C. albicans and P. gingivalis persistence and host infection, several models for host–biofilm interactions were developed, including microbial exposure to a representative monocyte cell line (THP1) and gingival fibroblasts isolated from periodontitis patients. For in vivo experiments, a mouse subcutaneous chamber model was utilized. The persistence of P. gingivalis cells was observed within mixed biofilm with C. albicans. This microbial co-existence influenced host immunity by attenuating macrophage and fibroblast responses. Cytokine and chemokine production decreased compared to pure bacterial infection. The fibroblasts isolated from patients with severe periodontitis were less susceptible to fungal colonization, indicating a modulation of the host environment by the dominating bacterial infection. The results obtained for the mouse model in which a sequential infection was initiated by the fungus showed that this host colonization induced a milder inflammation, leading to a significant reduction in mouse mortality. Moreover, high bacterial counts in animal organisms were noted on a longer time scale in the presence of C. albicans, suggesting the chronic nature of the dual-species infection.

Yeast-like fungi from the Candida genus are predominantly harmless commensals that colonize human skin and mucosal surfaces, but under conditions of impaired host immune system change into dangerous pathogens. The pathogenicity of these fungi is typically accompanied by increased adhesion and formation of complex biofilms, making candidal infections challenging to treat. Although a variety of antifungal drugs have been developed that preferably attack the fungal cell wall and plasma membrane, these pathogens have acquired novel defense mechanisms that make them resistant to standard treatment. This causes an increase in the incidence of candidiasis and enforces the urgent need for an intensified search for new specifics that could be helpful, alone or synergistically with traditional drugs, for controlling Candida pathogenicity. Currently, numerous reports have indicated the effectiveness of plant metabolites as potent antifungal agents. These substances have been shown to inhibit growth and to alter the virulence of different Candida species in both the planktonic and hyphal form and during the biofilm formation. This review focuses on the most recent findings that provide evidence of decreasing candidal pathogenicity by different substances of plant origin, with a special emphasis on the mechanisms of their action. This is a particularly important issue in the light of the currently increasing frequency of emerging Candida strains and species resistant to standard antifungal treatment.

En la actualidad, tanto en la sociedad como en la escuela, impera el principio de inclusión en base al que todas y todos tenemos derecho a estar, participar y aprender en contextos ordinarios. Uno de los elementos fundamentales en el diseño de los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje son los recursos didácticos que se seleccionan o crean por parte de los docentes para su uso, tanto dentro como fuera de los centros escolares. Desde esta perspectiva, en esta investigación se ha analizado la oferta institucional de recursos didácticos digitales para la atención a la diversidad en la etapa de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, de tres comunidades autónomas del estado español: la Comunitat Valenciana, Galicia y las Islas Canarias. Los resultados del Estudio I del proyecto titulado Materiales didácticos digitales en educación secundaria obligatoria: análisis y propuestas para su uso escolar y sociofamiliar (PID2022-1373660B-100) muestran la dispersión en lo que se entiende por inclusión, es decir, la falta de coherencia en el concepto. También se evidencia que la elaboración de los materiales, en demasiadas ocasiones, se produce desde un enfoque centrado en el déficit y con escasa profundización en propuestas diseñadas desde el DUA, y para una aplicación transversal. Por tanto, se concluye que es fundamental profundizar en la formación del profesorado para hacer posible la inclusión y se ofrecen una serie de recomendaciones para la selección, uso y creación de recursos digitales para el alumnado de la etapa de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria.