Abstract
The emergence of resistance makes therapy in infectious diseases more difficult. The origin of the mounted resistance is probably multifactorial. The genetic and biochemical mechanisms responsible for yeast resistance to antifungal drugs used to better understand the epidemiology of the spread and selection of resistance strains. The accumulation of mutations and the amplification of loci lead to the amplification of resistance phenomena. On the other side, the involvement of efflux pumps in multidrugs resistance is large in medical mycology. Efflux pumps have been found both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Even with the characterization of a growing number of pumps and the development of new classes of antifungal drugs, the resistance by efflux still very serious. This review describes the different classes of efflux pumps, particulary the ABC transporters and their involvement in infectious diseases. In view of the emergence of multi-resistance strains to antifungal drugs, it is necessary to find new active molecules against yeast and fungi, or inhibit their resistance mechanisms and thus restore the activity of existing drugs. The use of specific inhibitors of pumps appears to be an interesting therapeutic approach. This review highlights the main ABC transporters inhibitors, their origins and their mechanisms of action. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.