Visible Blue Light is Capable of Inactivating Candida albicans and Other Fungal Species

Nearly all organisms found in nature have evolved and developed their own specific strategies to cope with reactive oxygen species (ROS). Catalase, a heme-containing tetramer protein expressed in a broad range of aerobic fungi, has been utilized as an essential enzymatic ROS detoxifying mechanism, and shows remarkable efficiency in degrading hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for fungal cell survival and host invasion. Here, we demonstrate that catalase inactivation with blue light renders fungal cells highly susceptible to ROS attack, thus resembling a 'strength-to-weakness optical switch'. To unveil catalase as the underlying molecular target of blue light and its inactivation mechanism, we systematically compared wild-type Candida albicans to a catalase-deficient mutant strain for susceptibility to ROS in the absence/presence of 410 nm treatment. Upon testing on a wide range of fungal species and strains, we found that intracellular catalase could be effectively and universally inactivated by 410 nm blue light. We find that the photoinactivation of catalase in combination with ROS-generating agents is highly effective and potent in achieving full eradication of multiple fungal species and strains, including multiple clinical strains of Candida auris, the causative agent of the global fungal epidemic. In addition, photoinactivation of catalase is shown to facilitate macrophage killing of intracellular Candida albicans. The antifungal efficacy of catalase photoinactivation is further validated using a Candida albicans-induced mouse model of skin abrasion. Taken together, our findings offer a novel catalase-photoinactivation approach to address multidrug-resistant Candida infections.

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PRESENTATION PATTERN AND FUNGAL AGENTS SPECTRUM CAUSING OTOMMYCOSIS

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research ◽

10.22159/ajpcr.2017.v11i1.24368 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 408

Author(s):

Kassim Dekhil

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Aspergillus Niger ◽

Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Aspergillus Flavus ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Alternaria Alternata ◽

Otitis Externa ◽

Fungal Species ◽

The Public

Objective: This study was aimed to identify the public pattern of presentation, influencing factors, and sort the fungal species, distribution of sex of patients with otomycosis.Results: The predominant complaints were pruritus and found in 76 patients (88.73%), discomfort and pain found in 62 patients (72.09%), aural fullness in 48 patients (55.81%), tinnitus in 34 patients (39.53%), hearing impairment in 50 cases (58.31%), ear discharge in 22 patients (25.58%), and most of the symptoms seen in 36 patients (68.14%). The results showed a total of eight fungal species belong to six different genera, namely, Aspergillus, Candida, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Alternaria, and Cephalosporium were isolated during this study. Among identified fungi, Aspergillus niger was found to be the most prevalent fungal species with 35.71% followed by Candida albicans (27.55%), Aspergillus flavus (10.20%), Aspergillus fumigatus (8.16), Penicillium digitatum (6.12%) and Cephalosporium species (4.08%), and Rhizopus species (5.1%), while Alternaria alternata had the lowest percentage (6.54%).Conclusion: Otomycosis/mycotic otitis externa is still a common problem and there is a rise in the occurrence of otomycosis in latest years, especially in tropical and subtropical humid climates.

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Divergence of Eukaryotic Secretory Components: the Candida albicans Homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sec20 Protein Is N Terminally Truncated, and Its Levels Determine Antifungal Drug Resistance and Growth

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.183.1.46-54.2001 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 183 (1) ◽

pp. 46-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Yvonne Weber ◽

Uwe J. Santore ◽

Joachim F. Ernst ◽

Rolf K. Swoboda

Keyword(s):

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽

Candida Albicans ◽

Transcriptional Control ◽

Secretory Pathway ◽

Sodium Dodecyl ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Gene Encoding ◽

Vesicle Traffic ◽

Antifungal Drug Resistance ◽

And Function

ABSTRACT Sec20p is a component of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae secretory pathway that does not have a close homolog in higher eukaryotic cells. To verify the function of Sec20p in other fungal species, we characterized the gene encoding a Sec20p homolog in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. The deduced protein has 27% identity with, but is missing about 100 N-terminal residues compared to S. cerevisiae Sec20p, which is part of the cytoplasmic tail interacting with the cytoplasmic protein Tip20p. Because a strain lacking both C. albicans SEC20alleles could not be constructed, we placed SEC20 under transcriptional control of two regulatable promoters, MET3pand PCK1p. Repression of SEC20 expression in these strains prevented (MET3p-SEC20 allele) or retarded (PCK1p-SEC20 allele) growth and led to the appearance of extensive intracellular membranes, which frequently formed stacks. Reduced SEC20 expression in the PCK1p-SEC20strain did not affect morphogenesis but led to a series of hypersensitivity phenotypes including supersensitivity to aminoglycoside antibiotics, to nystatin, to sodium dodecyl sulfate, and to cell wall inhibitors. These results demonstrate the occurrence and function of Sec20p in a fungal species other than S. cerevisiae, but the lack of the N-terminal domain and the apparent absence of a close TIP20 homolog in the C. albicans genome also indicate a considerable diversity in mechanisms of retrograde vesicle traffic in eukaryotes.

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Ten-year prevalence of fungal peritonitis in the city of Nis, South Serbia

Open Medicine ◽

10.2478/s11536-009-0083-9 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 49-52

Author(s):

S. Tasic ◽

N. Miladinovic-Tasic ◽

J. Djordjevic ◽

S. Pesic ◽

M. Avramovic

Keyword(s):

Renal Failure ◽

Candida Albicans ◽

Peritoneal Dialysis ◽

Chronic Renal Failure ◽

Peritoneal Fluid ◽

Common Species ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Fungal Peritonitis ◽

Clinical Center ◽

The City

AbstractFungal peritonitis is a rare but serious complication in patients with chronic renal failure on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The purpose of this study was to report the prevalence of fungal peritonitis in patients on CAPD in the Clinical Center-Nis (South Serbia) in the period from 1997 until the end of 2007. Fungal species were isolated in 66 cases (4.5%) of 1471 peritoneal fluid (PF) samples that we examined. During the study period, 22 (1.5%) cases of fungal peritonitis were registered. In 19 cases, Candida isolates were identified, Candida albicans (C. albicans) being the most common species (n=15). Two cases of fungal peritonitis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus and 1 possible case caused by Cladosporium cladosporioides (Cl. cladosporioides) were also detected.

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ANTIFUNGAL EFFICACY OF SECANG HEARTWOOD (CAESALPINIA SAPPAN L.) SOLUTIONS ON BIOFILMS OF CANDIDA ALBICANS ATCC 10231

International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics ◽

10.22159/ijap.2019.v11s1.16060 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 160-163

Author(s):

BRINNA LISTIANI ◽

RATNA MEIDYAWATI ◽

DEWA AYU NPA ◽

DWI ARNIAWATY

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Root Canal ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Mean Value ◽

Control Group ◽

Caesalpinia Sappan ◽

Irrigation Solution ◽

The Mean ◽

Preliminary Study ◽

Antifungal Efficacy

Objective: Candida albicans is a predominant fungal species found in persistent root canal infection, and its virulence depends on the ability to formbiofilms. To be able to eliminate this infection, a safe irrigation solution during root canal preparation is needed. This study is conducted to investigatethe antifungal properties of secang heartwood extract solutions on C. albicans biofilm.Methods: C. albicans biofilm was obtained from incubation of C. albicans ATCC 10231 at 96-well plates in 37°C for 24 h. These biofilms were exposedto various treatments: Secang heartwood in three different concentrations (25%, 33%, and 50%), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) 2.5%, and controlgroup. The results of the treatment are to see the optical density (OD) value. The higher the OD values, the lower antifungal activity of the solution.Results: The mean OD result from six samples obtained the mean value of various OD values showed in ELISA reader. Antifungal efficacy of 25%secang heartwood was lower than concentration of 33% and 50%. All concentrations of secang heartwood showed higher OD values than 2.5% NaOClbut lower than control group with p=0.01.Conclusion: Secang heartwood possesses antifungal effects against C. albicans biofilm but is lower than 2.5% NaOCl. Concentration of 25% has thestrongest effect against C. albicans among other concentrations. This was a preliminary study of the antifungal efficacy of secang heartwood extractsolutions against C. albicans biofilm. The result indicates that this solution has the potential to be used as an herbal alternative in root canal irrigations.

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Clathrin- and Arp2/3-Independent Endocytosis in the Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.00476-13 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Elias Epp ◽

Elena Nazarova ◽

Hannah Regan ◽

Lois M. Douglas ◽

James B. Konopka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Membrane Proteins ◽

Fungal Pathogen ◽

Mammalian Cells ◽

Fluid Phase ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Endocytic Pathway ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Content Type ◽

Actin Cables

ABSTRACT Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is conserved among eukaryotes and has been extensively analyzed at a molecular level. Here, we present an analysis of CME in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans that shows the same modular structure as those in other fungi and mammalian cells. Intriguingly, C. albicans is perfectly viable in the absence of Arp2/3, an essential component of CME in other systems. In C. albicans, Arp2/3 function remains essential for CME as all 15 proteins tested that participate in CME, including clathrin, lose their characteristic dynamics observed in wild-type (WT) cells. However, since arp2/3 cells are still able to endocytose lipids and fluid-phase markers, but not the Ste2 and Mup1 plasma membrane proteins, there must be an alternate clathrin-independent pathway we term Arp2/3-independent endocytosis (AIE). Characterization of AIE shows that endocytosis in arp2 mutants relies on actin cables and other Arp2/3-independent actin structures, as inhibition of actin functions prevented cargo uptake in arp2/3 mutants. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that arp2/3 mutants still formed invaginating tubules, cell structures whose proper functions are believed to heavily rely on Arp2/3. Finally, Prk1 and Sjl2, two proteins involved in patch disassembly during CME, were not correctly localized to sites of endocytosis in arp2 mutants, implying a role of Arp2/3 in CME patch disassembly. Overall, C. albicans contains an alternative endocytic pathway (AIE) that relies on actin cable function to permit clathrin-independent endocytosis (CIE) and provides a system to further explore alternate endocytic routes that likely exist in fungal species. IMPORTANCE There is a well-established process of endocytosis that is generally used by eukaryotic cells termed clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). Although the details are somewhat different between lower and higher eukaryotes, CME appears to be the dominant endocytic process in all eukaryotes. While fungi such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae have proven excellent models for dissecting the molecular details of endocytosis, loss of CME is so detrimental that it has been difficult to study alternate pathways functioning in its absence. Although the fungal pathogen Candida albicans has a CME pathway that functions similarly to that of S. cerevisiae, inactivation of this pathway does not compromise growth of yeast-form C. albicans. In these cells, lipids and fluid-phase molecules are still endocytosed in an actin-dependent manner, but membrane proteins are not. Thus, C. albicans provides a powerful model for the analysis of CME-independent endocytosis in lower eukaryotes.

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Anti-Fungal Activity of Cressa cretica, Leptadenia pyrotechnica and Pulicaria crispa, indigenous plants of Cholistan desert, Pakistan

Anti-Infective Agents ◽

10.2174/2211352518999201117144613 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 ◽

Author(s):

Faheem Hadi ◽

Tahir Maqbool ◽

Sameera Khurshid ◽

Aisha Nawaz ◽

Saira Aftab ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Antifungal Activity ◽

Aspergillus Niger ◽

Aspergillus Flavus ◽

Fungal Infections ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Fungal Activity ◽

Aspergillus Ustus ◽

Mother Tincture ◽

Anti Fungal

Background: Fungal infections have always remain a problem and they are getting worse with passage of each year due to their resistance against available antibiotics. Natural ways of treatment with homoeopathic medicines made of mother tinctures of plants have no reported side effects and have been proved effective against many bacterial and fungal infections. Materials & Methods: Preparation of mother tinctures of plants Cressa cretica, Leptadenia pyrotechnica and Pulicaria crispa was done and used to evaluate the anti-fungal potential of these plants against potentially pathogenic fungal species like Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ustus and Candida albicans by agar disc diffusion method. Each tincture was evaluated at 0.25 ml, 0.5 ml and 1 ml volume per disc and zone of inhibition was measured in millimetres and compared with commercial drug Fluconazole (2 mg/ml) which was used as standard. Results: The results showed that satisfactory anti-fungal activity of these plants in comparison to standard drug Fluconazole. The ratio of antifungal activity of Cressa cretica measured as the zone of growth inhibition of these cultures against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus ustus and Candida albicans was 24 mm / 27 mm, 30mm / 28 mm, 23 mm/ 30 mm and 32 mm/ 30 mm respectively. In the case of Leptadenia pyrotechnica, the mother tincture’s antifungal activity was 32 mm / 27 mm, 30 mm / 28 mm, 17 mm/ 30 mm and 24 mm/ 30 mm. In case of our third plant Pulicaria crispa, antifungal activity came out to be 23 mm/ 27 mm, 26 mm/ 28 mm, 26 mm / 30 mm and 24 mm/ 30 mm. Conclusion: Our study proved that mother tincture of these plants can be a potential new therapy to treat fungal infections and has the potential to rule out fungal problems. Further research using mother tincture of these plants against other fungal species has the potential to prove them a safer and widespread anti-fungal homoeopathic medicine.

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Fungemia Surveillance in Denmark Demonstrates Emergence of Non-albicans Candida Species and Higher Antifungal Usage and Resistance Rates than in Other Nations

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.01907-17 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 56 (4) ◽

pp. e01907-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mariana Castanheira

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Candida Species ◽

Susceptibility Testing ◽

Antifungal Susceptibility ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Azole Resistance ◽

Content Type ◽

Fungal Organisms ◽

Echinocandin Resistance ◽

Resistance Rates

ABSTRACT Recent changes in the occurrence of fungal species and the difficulties in performing reference antifungal susceptibility testing highlight the importance of surveillance of fungal organisms and antifungal resistance rates. K. M. T. Astvad et al. report results from recent (2012 to 2015) fungemia surveillance in Denmark and compare the results to previous data (2004 to 2011), showing a decrease in Candida albicans infections accompanied by an increase in C. glabrata and C. dubliniensis infections (J Clin Microbiol 56:e01564-17, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01564-17). Azole resistance among C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis isolates and echinocandin resistance in C. krusei isolates were higher in Denmark than in other regions. Interestingly, the usage of antifungals is higher in Denmark than in other Nordic countries.

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Twice-daily red and blue light treatment for Candida albicans biofilm matrix development control

Lasers in Medical Science ◽

10.1007/s10103-018-2610-x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 441-447 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paula Ventura da Silveira ◽

Beatriz Helena Dias Panariello ◽

Cecília Atem Gonçalves de Araújo Costa ◽

Shawn M. Maule ◽

Shane M. Maule ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Blue Light ◽

Light Treatment ◽

Development Control ◽

Biofilm Matrix

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Yeast species in vulvovaginitis candidosa

Orvosi Hetilap ◽

10.1556/oh.2015.30081 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 156 (1) ◽

pp. 28-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Éva Nemes-Nikodém ◽

Béla Tamási ◽

Noémi Mihalik ◽

Eszter Ostorházi

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Yeast Species ◽

Antifungal Susceptibility ◽

Common Species ◽

Fungal Species ◽

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis ◽

Fungal Culture ◽

Ionization Time ◽

Fluconazole Resistant ◽

Available Information

Introduction: Vulvovaginal candidiasis is the most common mycosis, however, the available information about antifungal susceptibilities of these yeasts is limited. Aim: To compare the gold standard fungal culture with a new molecular identification method and report the incidence of yeast species in vulvovaginitis candidosa. Method: The authors studied 370 yeasts isolated from vulvovaginal candidiasis and identified them by phenotypic and molecular methods. Results: The most common species was Candida albicans (85%), followed by Candida glabrata, and other Candida species. Conclusion: At present there are no recommendations for the evaluation of antifungal susceptibility of pathogenic fungal species occurring in vulvovaginal candidiasis and the natural antifungal resistance of the different species is known only. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight identification can be used to differentiate the fluconazole resistant Candida dubliniensis and the sensitive Candida albicans strains. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(1), 28–31.

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