scholarly journals In Vitro and In Vivo Experimental Activities of Antifungal Agents against Fusarium solani

1999 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1256-1257 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Guarro ◽  
I. Pujol ◽  
E. Mayayo

ABSTRACT In the treatment of disseminated Fusarium infections, amphotericin B either alone or in combination with flucytosine and rifampin is the drug therapy most frequently used. The efficacy of these antifungal drugs was evaluated in a murine disseminated-infection model, with five strains of Fusarium solani. All the treatments were clearly ineffective.

1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Marco ◽  
M. A. Pfaller ◽  
S. Messer ◽  
R. N. Jones

ABSTRACT Voriconazole (formerly UK-109,496) is a new monotriazole antifungal agent which has potent activity against Candida,Cryptococcus, and Aspergillus species. We investigated the in vitro activity of voriconazole compared to those of fluconazole, itraconazole, amphotericin B, and flucytosine (5FC) against 394 bloodstream isolates of Candida (five species) obtained from more than 30 different medical centers. MICs of all antifungal drugs were determined by the method recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards using RPMI 1640 test medium. Overall, voriconazole was quite active against all the yeast isolates (MIC at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited [MIC90], ≤0.5 μg/ml). Candida albicans was the most susceptible species (MIC90, 0.06 μg/ml) andCandida glabrata and Candida krusei were the least (MIC90, 1 μg/ml). Voriconazole was more active than amphotericin B and 5FC against all species except C. glabrata and was also more active than itraconazole and fluconazole. For isolates of Candida spp. with decreased susceptibility to fluconazole and itraconazole MICs of voriconazole were also higher. Based on these results, voriconazole has promising antifungal activity and further in vitro and in vivo investigations are warranted.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan E. Eldesouky ◽  
Abdelrahman Mayhoub ◽  
Tony R. Hazbun ◽  
Mohamed N. Seleem

ABSTRACTInvasive candidiasis presents an emerging global public health challenge due to the emergence of resistance to the frontline treatment options, such as fluconazole. Hence, the identification of other compounds capable of pairing with fluconazole and averting azole resistance would potentially prolong the clinical utility of this important group. In an effort to repurpose drugs in the field of antifungal drug discovery, we explored sulfa antibacterial drugs for the purpose of reversing azole resistance inCandida. In this study, we assembled and investigated a library of 21 sulfa antibacterial drugs for their ability to restore fluconazole sensitivity inCandida albicans. Surprisingly, the majority of assayed sulfa drugs (15 of 21) were found to exhibit synergistic relationships with fluconazole by checkerboard assay with fractional inhibitory concentration index (ΣFIC) values ranging from <0.0312 to 0.25. Remarkably, five sulfa drugs were able to reverse azole resistance in a clinically achievable range. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) of the amino benzene sulfonamide scaffold as antifungal agents were studied. We also identified the possible mechanism of the synergistic interaction of sulfa antibacterial drugs with azole antifungal drugs. Furthermore, the ability of sulfa antibacterial drugs to inhibitCandidabiofilm by 40%in vitrowas confirmed. In addition, the effects of sulfa-fluconazole combinations onCandidagrowth kinetics and efflux machinery were explored. Finally, using aCaenorhabditis elegansinfection model, we demonstrated that the sulfa-fluconazole combination does possess potent antifungal activityin vivo, reducingCandidain infected worms by ∼50% compared to the control.


2001 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Louie ◽  
Pamela Kaw ◽  
Partha Banerjee ◽  
Weiguo Liu ◽  
George Chen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In vitro time-kill studies and a rabbit model of endocarditis and pyelonephritis were used to define the impact that the order of exposure of Candida albicans to fluconazole (FLC) and amphotericin B (AMB), as sequential and combination therapies, had on the susceptibility of C. albicans to AMB and on the outcome. The contribution of FLC-induced resistance to AMB for C. albicans also was assessed. In vitro, AMB monotherapy rapidly killed each of four C. albicans strains; FLC alone was fungistatic. Preincubation of these fungi with FLC for 18 h prior to exposure to AMB decreased their susceptibilities to AMB for 8 to >40 h. Induced resistance to AMB was transient, but the duration of resistance increased with the length of FLC preincubation. Yeast sequentially incubated with FLC followed by AMB plus FLC (FLC→AMB+FLC) showed fungistatic growth kinetics similar to that of fungi that were exposed to FLC alone. This antagonistic effect persisted for at least 24 h. Simultaneous exposure of C. albicans to AMB and FLC [AMB+FLC(simult)] demonstrated activity similar to that with AMB alone for AMB concentrations of ≥1 μg/ml; antagonism was seen using an AMB concentration of 0.5 μg/ml. The in vitro findings accurately predicted outcomes in our rabbit infection model. In vivo, AMB monotherapy and treatment with AMB for 24 h followed by AMB plus FLC (AMB→AMB+FLC) rapidly sterilized kidneys and cardiac vegetations. AMB+FLC(simult) and FLC→AMB treatments were slower in clearing fungi from infected tissues. FLC monotherapy and FLC→AMB+FLC were both fungistatic and were the least active regimens. No adverse interaction was observed between AMB and FLC for the AMB→FLC regimen. However, FLC→AMB treatment was slower than AMB alone in clearing fungi from tissues. Thus, our in vitro and in vivo studies both demonstrate that preexposure of C. albicans to FLC reduces fungal susceptibility to AMB. The length of FLC preexposure and whether AMB is subsequently used alone or in combination with FLC determine the duration of induced resistance to AMB.


1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 2503-2510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Del Poeta ◽  
Wiley A. Schell ◽  
Christine C. Dykstra ◽  
Susan K. Jones ◽  
Richard R. Tidwell ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Aromatic dicationic compounds possess antimicrobial activity against a wide range of eucaryotic pathogens, and in the present study an examination of the structures-functions of a series of compounds against fungi was performed. Sixty-seven dicationic molecules were screened for their inhibitory and fungicidal activities againstCandida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The MICs of a large number of compounds were comparable to those of the standard antifungal drugs amphotericin B and fluconazole. Unlike fluconazole, potent inhibitory compounds in this series were found to have excellent fungicidal activities. The MIC of one of the most potent compounds against C. albicans was 0.39 μg/ml, and it was the most potent compound against C. neoformans (MIC, ≤0.09 μg/ml). Selected compounds were also found to be active againstAspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium solani,Candida species other than C. albicans, and fluconazole-resistant strains of C. albicans and C. neoformans. Since some of these compounds have been safely given to animals, these classes of molecules have the potential to be developed as antifungal agents.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S73-S73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronen Ben-Ami ◽  
Liat Ashkenazi ◽  
Judith Berman ◽  
Nuphar Korolker ◽  
Anna Novikov

Abstract Background Candida auris is an emerging nosocomial pathogen that is resistant to Fluconazole and variably susceptible to other systemic drug classes. Treatment with echinocandins has been recommended based on MICs in the susceptible range, but supporting in vivo data is lacking. Methods We tested the MIC of C. auris strains (n = 12) to fluconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole. anidulafungin, amphotericin B and flucytosine. Representative C. auris strains from Israel and South Africa, and a reference C. albicans strain were analysed using time–kill curve assays. Fungicidal activity was defined as reduction of ≥3 log from baseline CFU/ml. Response to caspofungin treatment was assessed in BALB/c mice immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and inoculated with 7 × 107C. auris cells by tail vein injection. Mice were treated from day +1 to day +7 with caspofungin (IP) at doses of 1 or 5 mg/kg and compared with sham-treated controls. Survival was assessed daily. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were performed and treatment arms were compared using the log-rank test. Results Drug susceptibility results (MIC50 and MIC90) were: fluconazole, 64 and 128 mg/l; voriconazole, 0.5 and 24 mg/l; posaconazole, 0.5 and 27 mg/l; anidulafungin, 0.03 and 0.06 mg/l; amphotericin B, 2 and 8 mg/l; flucytosine, 0.3 and 1 mg/l. Time–kill curve analyses showed log reduction from baseline CFU concentration of −3.0 to −2.8 for fluconazole (MIC ×1), 5.6–6.1 for amphotericin B (MIC ×4) and −0.4 to −0.9 for caspofungin (MIC ×16), consistent with fungicidal activity of amphotericin B and weak fungistatic activity of caspofungin. In the mouse model, survival rate was similar with sham treatment (33%) and treatment with caspofungin 1 mg/kg/day (44%) and 5 mg/kg/day (22%), P = 0.7. Conclusion Despite generally low MIC, caspofungin has only mild fungistatic activity on C. auris and no effect on survival in a mouse infection model. Amphotericin B has fungicidal activity against C. auris. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic Ries ◽  
Astrid Alflen ◽  
Pamela Aranda Lopez ◽  
Hendrik Beckert ◽  
Matthias Theobald ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThere is a growing body of evidence for immunomodulatory side effects of antifungal agents on different immune cells, e.g., T cells. Therefore, the aim of our study was to clarify these interactions with regard to the effector functions of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). Human PMN were preincubated with fluconazole (FLC), voriconazole (VRC), posaconazole (POS), isavuconazole (ISA), caspofungin (CAS), micafungin (MFG), conventional amphotericin B (AMB), and liposomal amphotericin B (LAMB). PMN then were analyzed by flow cytometry for activation, degranulation, and phagocytosis and by dichlorofluorescein assay to detect reactive oxygen species (ROS). Additionally, interleukin-8 (IL-8) release was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. POS led to enhanced activation, degranulation, and generation of ROS, whereas IL-8 release was reduced. In contrast, ISA-pretreated PMN showed decreased activation signaling, impaired degranulation, and lower generation of ROS. MFG caused enhanced expression of activation markers but impaired degranulation, phagocytosis, generation of ROS, and IL-8 release. CAS showed increased phagocytosis, whereas degranulation and generation of ROS were reduced. AMB led to activation of almost all effector functions besides impaired phagocytosis, whereas LAMB did not alter any effector functions. Independent from class, antifungal agents show variable influence on neutrophil effector functionsin vitro. Whether this is clinically relevant needs to be clarified.


2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Barchiesi ◽  
A M Tortorano ◽  
L Falconi Di Francesco ◽  
A Rigoni ◽  
A Giacometti ◽  
...  

At the Istituto Ricovero Cura Carattere Scientifico, Ospedale Maggiore di Milano, Italy, Candida pelliculosa accounted for 3.3 and 4.4 % of all Candida species other than Candida albicans collected during 1996 and 1998, respectively. Genetic variability was investigated by electrophoretic karyotyping and inter-repeat PCR, and the susceptibility to five antifungal agents of 46 strains isolated from 37 patients during these 2 years was determined. Combination of the two typing methods yielded 14 different DNA types. Although the majority of DNA types were randomly distributed among different units, one DNA type was significantly more common in patients hospitalized in a given unit compared with those from other wards (P = 0.034), whereas another DNA type was more frequently isolated in patients hospitalized during 1996 than in those hospitalized during 1998 (P = 0.002). Fluconazole, itraconazole and posaconazole MIC90 values were 16, 1 and 4 μg ml−1, respectively. All isolates but three were susceptible in vitro to flucytosine. All isolates were susceptible in vitro to amphotericin B. These data suggest that there are possible relationships among strains of C. pelliculosa, wards and time of isolation. Amphotericin B seems to be the optimal drug therapy in infections due to this yeast species.


2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 4656-4663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antigoni Elefanti ◽  
Johan W. Mouton ◽  
Paul E. Verweij ◽  
Athanassios Tsakris ◽  
Loukia Zerva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAntifungal combination therapy with voriconazole or amphotericin B and an echinocandin is often employed as primary or salvage therapy for management particularly of refractory aspergillosis. The pharmacodynamic interactions of amphotericin B- and voriconazole-based combinations with the three echinocandins caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin in the presence of serum were tested against 15Aspergillus fumigatuscomplex,A. flavuscomplex, andA. terreuscomplex isolates to assess both their growth-inhibitory and fungicidal activities. Thein vitroactivity of each drug alone and in combination at a 1:1 fixed concentration ratio was tested with a broth microdilution colorimetric method, and interactions were assessed by isobolographic analysis. Synergy was found for all amphotericin B- and voriconazole-based combinations, with amphotericin B-based combinations showing strong inhibitory synergistic interactions (interaction indices of 0.20 to 0.52) and with voriconazole-based combinations demonstrating strong fungicidal synergistic interactions (interaction indices of 0.10 to 0.29) (P< 0.001). Drug- and species-specific differences were found, with caspofungin and theA. fumigatuscomplex exhibiting the weakest synergistic interactions. In the presence of serum, the synergistic interactions were reduced in the order (from largest to smallest decrease) micafungin > anidulafungin > caspofungin, andA. flavuscomplex >A. fumigatuscomplex >A. terreuscomplex, resulting in additive interactions, particularly for inhibitory activities of amphotericin B-echinocandin combinations and fungicidal activities of voriconazole-echinocandin combinations. Drug- and species-specific differences were found in the presence of serum for inhibitory activities of antifungal drugs, with the lowest interaction indices being observed for amphotericin B-caspofungin (median, 0.77) and for theA. terreuscomplex (median, 0.56). The presentin vitrodata showed that serum had a major impact on synergistic interactions of amphotericin B-echinocandin and voriconazole-echinocandin combinations, resulting in additive interactions and explaining the indifferent outcomes usually observedin vivo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh Ambati ◽  
Tuyetnhu Pham ◽  
Zachary A. Lewis ◽  
Xiaorong Lin ◽  
Richard B. Meagher

Abstract Background Life-threatening invasive fungal infections are treated with antifungal drugs such as Amphotericin B (AmB) loaded liposomes. Our goal herein was to show that targeting liposomal AmB to fungal cells with the C-type lectin pathogen recognition receptor DC-SIGN improves antifungal activity. DC-SIGN binds variously crosslinked mannose-rich and fucosylated glycans and lipomannans that are expressed by helminth, protist, fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens including three of the most life-threatening fungi, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Ligand recognition by human DC-SIGN is provided by a carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) linked to the membrane transit and signaling sequences. Different combinations of the eight neck repeats (NR1 to NR8) expressed in different protein isoforms may alter the orientation of the CRD to enhance its binding to different glycans. Results We prepared two recombinant isoforms combining the CRD with NR1 and NR2 in isoform DCS12 and with NR7 and NR8 in isoform DCS78 and coupled them to a lipid carrier. These constructs were inserted into the membrane of pegylated AmB loaded liposomes AmB-LLs to produce DCS12-AmB-LLs and DCS78-AmB-LLs. Relative to AmB-LLs and Bovine Serum Albumin coated BSA-AmB-LLs, DCS12-AmB-LLs and DCS78-AmB-LLs bound more efficiently to the exopolysaccharide matrices produced by A. fumigatus, C. albicans and C. neoformans in vitro, with DCS12-AmB-LLs performing better than DCS78-AmB-LLs. DCS12-AmB-LLs inhibited and/or killed all three species in vitro significantly better than AmB-LLs or BSA-AmB-LLs. In mouse models of invasive candidiasis and pulmonary aspergillosis, one low dose of DCS12-AmB-LLs significantly reduced the fungal burden in the kidneys and lungs, respectively, several-fold relative to AmB-LLs. Conclusions DC-SIGN’s CRD specifically targeted antifungal liposomes to three highly evolutionarily diverse pathogenic fungi and enhanced the antifungal efficacy of liposomal AmB both in vitro and in vivo. Targeting significantly reduced the effective dose of antifungal drug, which may reduce drug toxicity, be effective in overcoming dose dependent drug resistance, and more effectively kill persister cells. In addition to fungi, DC-SIGN targeting of liposomal packaged anti-infectives have the potential to alter treatment paradigms for a wide variety of pathogens from different kingdoms including protozoans, helminths, bacteria, and viruses which express its cognate ligands.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu-Yan Su ◽  
Guang-Hui Ni ◽  
Yi-Chuan Liao ◽  
Liu-Qing Su ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
...  

The increased resistance of Candida albicans to conventional antifungal drugs poses a huge challenge to the clinical treatment of this infection. In recent years, combination therapy, a potential treatment method to overcome C. albicans resistance, has gained traction. This study assessed the effect of 6,7,4′-O-triacetylscutellarein (TA) combined with fluconazole (FLC) on C. albicans in vitro and in vivo. TA combined with FLC showed good synergistic antifungal activity against drug-resistant C. albicans in vitro, with a partial inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of 0.0188–0.1800. In addition, the time-kill curve confirmed the synergistic effect of TA and FLC. TA combined with FLC showed a strong synergistic inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation of resistant C. albicans. The combined antifungal efficacy of TA and FLC was evaluated in vivo in a mouse systemic fungal infection model. TA combined with FLC prolonged the survival rate of mice infected with drug-resistant C. albicans and reduced tissue invasion. TA combined with FLC also significantly inhibited the yeast-hypha conversion of C. albicans and significantly reduced the expression of RAS-cAMP-PKA signaling pathway-related genes (RAS1 and EFG1) and hyphal-related genes (HWP1 and ECE1). Furthermore, the mycelium growth on TA combined with the FLC group recovered after adding exogenous db-cAMP. Collectively, these results show that TA combined with FLC inhibits the formation of hyphae and biofilms through the RAS-cAMP-PKA signaling pathway, resulting in reduced infectivity and resistance of C. albicans. Therefore, this study provides a basis for the treatment of drug-resistant C. albicans infections.


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