Azole resistance inCandida albicansfrom animals: Highlights on efflux pump activity and gene overexpression

Mycoses ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 462-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Fábio Gadelha Rocha ◽  
Silviane Praciano Bandeira ◽  
Lucas Pereira de Alencar ◽  
Luciana Magalhães Melo ◽  
Jamille Alencar Sales ◽  
...  
2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 2092-2097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjith Rajendran ◽  
Eilidh Mowat ◽  
Elaine McCulloch ◽  
David F. Lappin ◽  
Brian Jones ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the phase-dependent expression and activity of efflux pumps inAspergillus fumigatustreated with voriconazole. Fourteen strains were shown to become increasingly resistant in the 12-h (16- to 128-fold) and 24-h (>512-fold) phases compared to 8-h germlings. An Ala-Nap uptake assay demonstrated a significant increase in efflux pump activity in the 12-h and 24-h phases (P< 0.0001). The efflux pump activity of the 8-h germling cells was also significantly induced by voriconazole (P< 0.001) after 24 h of treatment. Inhibition of efflux pump activity with the competitive substrate MC-207,110 reduced the voriconazole MIC values for theA. fumigatusgermling cells by 2- to 8-fold. Quantitative expression analysis ofAfuMDR4mRNA transcripts showed a phase-dependent increase as the mycelial complexity increased, which was coincidental with a strain-dependent increase in azole resistance. Voriconazole also significantly induced this in a time-dependent manner (P< 0.001). Finally, anin vivomouse biofilm model was used to evaluate efflux pump expression, and it was shown thatAfuMDR4was constitutively expressed and significantly induced by treatment with voriconazole after 24 h (P< 0.01). Our results demonstrate that efflux pumps are expressed in complexA. fumigatusbiofilm populations and that this contributes to azole resistance. Moreover, voriconazole treatment induces efflux pump expression. Collectively, these data may provide evidence for azole treatment failures in clinical cases of aspergillosis.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 709
Author(s):  
Marta Jorba ◽  
Marina Pedrola ◽  
Ouldouz Ghashghaei ◽  
Rocío Herráez ◽  
Lluis Campos-Vicens ◽  
...  

This work reports a detailed characterization of the antimicrobial profile of two trimethoprim-like molecules (compounds 1a and 1b) identified in previous studies. Both molecules displayed remarkable antimicrobial activity, particularly when combined with sulfamethoxazole. In disk diffusion assays on Petri dishes, compounds 1a and 1b showed synergistic effects with colistin. Specifically, in combinations with low concentrations of colistin, very large increases in the activities of compounds 1a and 1b were determined, as demonstrated by alterations in the kinetics of bacterial growth despite only slight changes in the fractional inhibitory concentration index. The effect of colistin may be to increase the rate of antibiotic entry while reducing efflux pump activity. Compounds 1a and 1b were susceptible to extrusion by efflux pumps, whereas the inhibitor phenylalanine arginyl β-naphthylamide (PAβN) exerted effects similar to those of colistin. The interactions between the target enzyme (dihydrofolate reductase), the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), and the studied molecules were explored using enzymology tools and computational chemistry. A model based on docking results is reported.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhao Dong ◽  
Qing Li ◽  
Jinzhu Geng ◽  
Qing Cao ◽  
Dan Zhao ◽  
...  

AbstractThe TonB system is generally considered as an energy transporting device for the absorption of nutrients. Our recent study showed that deletion of this system caused a significantly increased sensitivity of Aeromonas hydrophila to the macrolides erythromycin and roxithromycin, but had no effect on other classes of antibiotics. In this study, we found the sensitivity of ΔtonB123 to all macrolides tested revealed a 8- to 16-fold increase compared with the wild-type (WT) strain, but this increase was not related with iron deprivation caused by tonB123 deletion. Further study demonstrated that the deletion of tonB123 did not damage the integrity of the bacterial membrane but did hinder the function of macrolide efflux. Compared with the WT strain, deletion of macA2B2, one of two ATP-binding cassette (ABC) types of the macrolide efflux pump, enhanced the sensitivity to the same levels as those of ΔtonB123. Interestingly, the deletion of macA2B2 in the ΔtonB123 mutant did not cause further increase in sensitivity to macrolide resistance, indicating that the macrolide resistance afforded by the MacA2B2 pump was completely abrogated by tonB123 deletion. In addition, macA2B2 expression was not altered in the ΔtonB123 mutant, indicating that any influence of TonB on MacA2B2-mediated macrolide resistance was at the pump activity level. In conclusion, inactivation of the TonB system significantly compromises the resistance of A. hydrophila to macrolides, and the mechanism of action is related to the function of MacA2B2-mediated macrolide efflux.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 5858-5866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somanon Bhattacharya ◽  
Jack D. Sobel ◽  
Theodore C. White

ABSTRACTCandida albicansis a pathogenic fungus causing vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). Azole drugs, such as fluconazole, are the most common treatment for these infections. Recently, azole-resistant vaginalC. albicansisolates have been detected in patients with recurring and refractory vaginal infections. However, the mechanisms of resistance in vaginalC. albicansisolates have not been studied in detail. In oral and systemic resistant isolates, overexpression of the ABC transporters Cdr1p and Cdr2p and the major facilitator transporter Mdr1p is associated with resistance. Sixteen fluconazole-susceptible and 22 fluconazole-resistant vaginalC. albicansisolates were obtained, including six matched sets containing a susceptible and a resistant isolate, from individual patients. Using quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR), 16 of 22 resistant isolates showed overexpression of at least one efflux pump gene, while only 1 of 16 susceptible isolates showed such overexpression. To evaluate the pump activity associated with overexpression, an assay that combined data from two separate fluorescent assays using rhodamine 6G and alanine β-naphthylamide was developed. The qRT-PCR results and activity assay results were in good agreement. This combination of two fluorescent assays can be used to study efflux pumps as resistance mechanisms in clinical isolates. These results demonstrate that efflux pumps are a significant resistance mechanism in vaginalC. albicansisolates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raees A. Paul ◽  
Shivaprakash M. Rudramurthy ◽  
Manpreet Dhaliwal ◽  
Pankaj Singh ◽  
Anup K. Ghosh ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The magnitude of azole resistance in Aspergillus flavus and its underlying mechanism is obscure. We evaluated the frequency of azole resistance in a collection of clinical (n = 121) and environmental isolates (n = 68) of A. flavus by the broth microdilution method. Six (5%) clinical isolates displayed voriconazole MIC greater than the epidemiological cutoff value. Two of these isolates with non-wild-type MIC were isolated from same patient and were genetically distinct, which was confirmed by amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. Mutations associated with azole resistance were not present in the lanosterol 14-α demethylase coding genes (cyp51A, cyp51B, and cyp51C). Basal and voriconazole-induced expression of cyp51A homologs and various efflux pump genes was analyzed in three each of non-wild-type and wild-type isolates. All of the efflux pump genes screened showed low basal expression irrespective of the azole susceptibility of the isolate. However, the non-wild-type isolates demonstrated heterogeneous overexpression of many efflux pumps and the target enzyme coding genes in response to induction with voriconazole (1 μg/ml). The most distinctive observation was approximately 8- to 9-fold voriconazole-induced overexpression of an ortholog of the Candida albicans ATP binding cassette (ABC) multidrug efflux transporter, Cdr1, in two non-wild-type isolates compared to those in the reference strain A. flavus ATCC 204304 and other wild-type strains. Although the dominant marker of azole resistance in A. flavus is still elusive, the current study proposes the possible role of multidrug efflux pumps, especially that of Cdr1B overexpression, in contributing azole resistance in A. flavus.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 5396-5404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kangji Wang ◽  
Zhenying Zhang ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Xianyun Sun ◽  
Cheng Jin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAzoles are commonly used as antifungal drugs or pesticides to control fungal infections in medicine and agriculture. Fungi adapt to azole stress by rapidly activating the transcription of a number of genes, and transcriptional increases in some azole-responsive genes can elevate azole resistance. The regulatory mechanisms that control transcriptional responses to azole stress in filamentous fungi are not well understood. This study identified a bZIP transcription factor, ADS-4 (antifungaldrugsensitive-4), as a new regulator of adaptive responses and resistance to antifungal azoles. Transcription ofads-4inNeurospora crassacells increased when they were subjected to ketoconazole treatment, whereas the deletion ofads-4resulted in hypersensitivity to ketoconazole and fluconazole. In contrast, the overexpression ofads-4increased resistance to fluconazole and ketoconazole inN. crassa. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis, followed by quantitative reverse transcription (qRT)-PCR confirmation, showed that ADS-4 positively regulated the transcriptional responses of at least six genes to ketoconazole stress inN. crassa. The gene products of four ADS-4-regulated genes are known contributors to azole resistance, including the major efflux pump CDR4 (Pdr5p ortholog), an ABC multidrug transporter (NcAbcB), sterol C-22 desaturase (ERG5), and a lipid transporter (NcRTA2) that is involved in calcineurin-mediated azole resistance. Deletion of theads-4-homologous gene Afads-4inAspergillus fumigatuscaused hypersensitivity to itraconazole and ketoconazole, which suggested that ADS-4 is a functionally conserved regulator of adaptive responses to azoles. This study provides important information on a new azole resistance factor that could be targeted by a new range of antifungal pesticides and drugs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanbiao Long ◽  
Liping Zeng ◽  
Shanlei Qiao ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Guowei Zhong

ABSTRACTAntifungal treatment is often ineffectual, partly because of biofilm formation. In this study, by using a combined forward and reverse genetic strategy, we identified that nucleus-localized AfSsn3 and its partner AfSsn8, which constitute a Cdk8-cyclin pair, are required for azole resistance inAspergillus fumigatus. Deletion ofAfssn3led to increased absorption and utilization of glucose and amino acids. Interestingly, absorption and utilization of glucose accelerated the extracellular polysaccharide formation, while utilization of the amino acids serine, threonine, and glycine increased sphingolipid pathway intermediate accumulation. In addition, the absence ofAfssn3induced the activity of the efflux pump proteins. These factors indicate the mature biofilm is responsible for the major mechanisms ofA. fumigatusresistance to azoles in the ΔAfssn3mutant. Collectively, the loss ofAfssn3led to two “barrier” layers between the intracellular and extracellular spaces, which consequently decreased drug penetration into the cell.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (16) ◽  
pp. 2873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Lentz ◽  
Norbert Reiling ◽  
Gabriella Spengler ◽  
Annamária Kincses ◽  
Andrea Csonka ◽  
...  

The number of effective antituberculotic drugs is strongly limited to four first-line drugs in standard therapy. In case of resistances second-line antibiotics are used with a poor efficacy and tolerability. Therefore, novel antituberculotic drugs are urgently needed. We synthesized novel nonclassical 1,4-dihydropyridines and evaluated their antituberculotic properties depending on substituent effects. Preferred substituents could be identified. As related classical 1,4-dihydropyridines are known as inhibitors of the transmembrane efflux pump ABCB1 in cancer cells, we wondered whether a use of our compounds may be of favour to enhance the antituberculotic drug efficacy of the second-line antituberculotic drug clofazimine, which is a known substrate of ABCB1 by a suggested inhibition of a corresponding efflux pump in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). For this, we determined the ABCB1 inhibiting properties of our compounds in a mouse T-lymphoma cell line model and then evaluated the drug-enhancing properties of selected compounds in a co-application with clofazimine in our Mtb strain. We identified novel enhancers of clofazimine toxicity which could prevent clofazimine resistance development mediated by an efflux pump activity.


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