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Candidiasis (e.g., oral, gastrointestinal, vaginal, urinary tract, systemic) is a worldwide growing problem, since antifungal resistance and immunosuppression states are rising. To address this problem, very few drugs are available for the treatment of Candida spp. infections. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are urgently required. Probiotics have been proposed for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections due to their safety record and efficacy, however, little is still known about their potential role regarding fungal infections. The purpose of this review is to present an updated summary of the evidence of the antifungal effects of probiotics along with a discussion of their potential use as an alternative/complementary therapy against Candida spp. infections. Thus, we performed a literature search using appropriate keywords ("Probiotic + Candida", "Candidiasis treatment", and "Probiotic + candidiasis") to retrieve relevant studies (both preclinical and clinical) with special emphasis on the works published in the last 5 years. An increasing amount of evidence has shown the potential usefulness of probiotics in the management of oral and vulvovaginal candidiasis in recent years. Among other results, we found that, as for bacterial infections, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Saccharomyces are the most studied and effective genus for this purpose. However, in other areas, particularly in skincandidiaisis, studies are low or lacking. Thus, further investigation is necessary including in vitro and in vivo studies to establish the usefulness of probiotics in the management of candidiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactoferrin (LF), a glycoprotein found in mucosal secretions, is characterized by a wide range of functions, including immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities. Moreover, several investigations confirmed that LF displays high effectiveness against multiple bacteria and viruses and may be regarded as a potential inhibitor of enveloped viruses, such as presently prevailing SARS-CoV-2. In our review, we discuss available studies about LF functions and bioavailability of different LF forms in in vitro and in vivo models. Moreover, we characterize the potential benefits and side effects of LF use; we also briefly summarize the latest clinical trials examining LF application. Finally, we point potential role of LF in inflammatory bowel disease and indicate its use as a marker for disease severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that exist within the human gut, and which are also present in different food products and supplements. They have been investigated for some decades, due to their potential beneficial impact on human health. Probiotics compete with pathogenic microorganisms for adhesion sites within the gut, to antagonize them or to regulate the host immune response resulting in preventive and therapeutic effects. Therefore, dysbiosis, defined as an impairment in the gut microbiota, could play a role in various pathological conditions, such as lactose intolerance, gastrointestinal and urogenital infections, various cancers, cystic fibrosis, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, and can also be caused by antibiotic side effects. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that can regulate gene expression in a post-transcriptional manner. miRNAs are biochemical biomarkers that play an important role in almost all cellular signaling pathways in many healthy and disease states. For the first time, the present review summarizes current evidence suggesting that the beneficial properties of probiotics could be explained based on the pivotal role of miRNAs. -XWtzG6mL78JY_4WAyj9kz Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]