Biofilms Part 1: Overcome Candida by Disrupting Its Main Defense

We have virtually no evidence the mycobiome makes a positive contribution to human health. Fungal cell wall components such as beta-glucan bind receptors on immune cells such as phagocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and certain classes of Tand B-lymphocytes, so one could hypothesize a beneficial effect on immunity,3 but commensal fungi are almost invariably pathogens or potential pathogens. Organisms such as Cryptococcus neoformans live in low numbers for decades in the lungs of otherwise healthy people only to emerge as a life-threatening fungus when the immune system is suppressed. Small populations of the species-specific fungal pathogen Pneumocystis jirovecii have been found in the mouths of healthy people.