scholarly journals Antimicrobial Activity of the Peptide LfcinB15 against Candida albicans

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 519
Author(s):  
Che-Kang Chang ◽  
Mou-Chieh Kao ◽  
Chung-Yu Lan

Lactoferricin (Lfcin) is an amphipathic, cationic peptide derived from proteolytic cleavage of the N-lobe of lactoferrin (Lf). Lfcin and its derivatives possess broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities. However, unlike their antibacterial functions, the modes of action of Lfcin and its derivatives against pathogenic fungi are less well understood. In this study, the mechanisms of LfcinB15, a derivative of bovine Lfcin, against Candida albicans were, therefore, extensively investigated. LfcinB15 exhibited inhibitory activity against planktonic cells, biofilm cells, and clinical isolates of C. albicans and non-albicans Candida species. We further demonstrated that LfcinB15 is localized on the cell surface and vacuoles of C. albicans cells. Moreover, LfcinB15 uses several different methods to kill C. albicans, including disturbing the cell membrane, inducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and causing mitochondrial dysfunction. Finally, the Hog1 and Mkc1 mitogen-activated protein kinases were both activated in C. albicans cells in response to LfcinB15. These findings help us to obtain more insight into the complex mechanisms used by LfcinB15 and other Lfcin-derived peptides to fight fungal pathogens.

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (19) ◽  
pp. 2272-2282
Author(s):  
Vu Ngoc Toan ◽  
Nguyen Minh Tri ◽  
Nguyen Dinh Thanh

Several 6- and 7-alkoxy-2-oxo-2H-chromene-4-carbaldehydes were prepared from corresponding alkyl ethers of 6- and 7-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromen-2-ones by oxidation using selenium dioxide. 6- and 7-Alkoxy-4-methyl-2H-chromenes were obtained with yields of 57-85%. Corresponding 4-carbaldehyde derivatives were prepared with yields of 41-67%. Thiosemicarbazones of these aldehydes with D-galactose moiety were synthesized by reaction of these aldehydes with N-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-Dgalactopyranosyl) thiosemicarbazide with yields of 62-74%. These thiosemicarbazones were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities in vitro against bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and fungi, such as Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans. Several compounds exhibited strong inhibitory activity with MIC values of 0.78- 1.56 μM, including 8a (against S. aureus, E. coli, and C. albicans), 8d (against E. coli and A. niger), 9a (against S. aureus), and 9c (against S. aureus and C. albicans).


mSphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric H. Jung ◽  
David J. Meyers ◽  
Jürgen Bosch ◽  
Arturo Casadevall

ABSTRACTSimilarities in fungal and animal cells make antifungal discovery efforts more difficult than those for other classes of antimicrobial drugs. Currently, there are only three major classes of antifungal drugs used for the treatment of systemic fungal diseases: polyenes, azoles, and echinocandins. Even in situations where the offending fungal organism is susceptible to the available drugs, treatment courses can be lengthy and unsatisfactory, since eradication of infection is often very difficult, especially in individuals with impaired immunity. Consequently, there is a need for new and more effective antifungal drugs. We have identified compounds with significant antifungal activity in the Malaria Box (Medicines for Malaria Ventures, Geneva, Switzerland) that have higher efficacy than some of the currently used antifungal drugs. Our best candidate, MMV665943 (IUPAC name 4-[6-[[2-(4-aminophenyl)-3H-benzimidazol-5-yl]methyl]-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl]aniline), here referred to as DM262, showed 16- to 32-fold-higher activity than fluconazole againstCryptococcus neoformans. There was also significant antifungal activity in other fungal species with known antifungal resistance, such asLomentospora prolificansandCryptococcus gattii. Antifungal activity was also observed against a common fungus,Candida albicans. These results are important because they offer a potentially new class of antifungal drugs and the repurposing of currently available therapeutics.IMPORTANCEMuch like the recent increase in drug-resistant bacteria, there is a rise in antifungal-resistant strains of pathogenic fungi. There is a need for novel and more potent antifungal therapeutics. Consequently, we investigated a mixed library of drug-like and probe-like compounds with activity inPlasmodiumspp. for activity against two common fungal pathogens,Cryptococcus neoformansandCandida albicans, along with two less common pathogenic species,Lomentospora prolificansandCryptococcus gattii. We uncover a previously uncharacterized drug with higher broad-spectrum antifungal activity than some current treatments. Our findings may eventually lead to a compound added to the arsenal of antifungal therapeutics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 473-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abd El-Galil E. Amr ◽  
Ahmed M. Naglah ◽  
Nermien M. Sabry ◽  
Alhussein A. Ibrahim ◽  
Elsayed A. Elsayed ◽  
...  

AbstractInterest in the synthesis of heterocyclic organic molecules with peptide moieties has gained attention due to their potential biological activities. The current work aimed at synthesizing new macrocyclic tripeptide imides and evaluating their possible antimicrobial activities. A series of 11 derivatives were prepared from dimethyl 3,5-pyridinevalinyl ester either by NaOH or NH2NH2 treatment, followed by cyclization and further reaction with NaOH or NH2NH2. The majority of synthesized derivatives showed promising antibacterial and antifungal activities in comparison to standard known antibiotics. Compounds 5a and 7b showed the most potential antibacterial against Staphylococcus aureus and antifungal activities against Candida albicans, respectively.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Sharifi-Rad ◽  
Pawel Pohl

In this study, very simple and fast one-step synthesis of biogenic silver chloride nanoparticles (AgCl-NPs) using a Pulicaria vulgaris Gaertn. aerial part extract from an aqueous solution of silver nitrate at room temperature is proposed. The proceedings of the reaction were investigated by UV–Vis spectroscopy. AgCl-NPs were characterized using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Antibacterial and antifungal activities of these nanoparticles were evaluated by disk diffusion and microdilution methods against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and C. glabrata. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the synthesized AgCl-NPs was determined by the DPPH radical scavenging assay. The antimicrobial test confirmed the bactericidal activity of biosynthesized AgCl-NPs against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. They also exhibited good antifungal activities with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 40 to 60 µg/mL against Candida glabrata and Candida albicans, respectively. In addition, biosynthesized AgCl-NPs were established to have remarkable antioxidant activity. All this pointed out that the proposed new biosynthesis approach resulted in production of AgCl-NPs with convenient biomedical applications.


Author(s):  
Sarkar M.A. Kawsar ◽  
Khaleda Mymona ◽  
Refat Asma ◽  
Mohammad A. Manchur ◽  
Yasuhiro Koide ◽  
...  

This study was carried out to regioselective myristoylation of methyl α-D-glucopyranoside (1) using the direct acylation method gave the corresponding methyl 6-O-myristoyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (2) in fair yield. A number of 2,3,4-tri-O-acyl derivatives (3-15) of this 6-O-substitution product using a wide variety of acylating agents were also prepared in order to obtain newer derivatives of synthetic and biological importance. The reaction conditions are reasonably simple and yields were very good. The structures of the title compounds (2-15) were established by using analytical, physicochemical techniques and spectroscopic data (IR and 1H-NMR). All the synthesized compounds were employed as test chemicals for in vitro antimicrobial functionality test against Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria and plant pathogenic fungi Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. For comparative studies, antimicrobial activity of standard antibiotics, Ampicillin and Nystatin were also carried out against these microorganisms. The study revealed that the tested samples exhibited moderate to good antibacterial and antifungal activities. It was also observed that the test substances were more effective against fungal phytopathogens than those of the human bacterial strains. Encouragingly, a number of tested chemicals showed nearest antibacterial and antifungal activities with the standard antibiotics employed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awanish Kumar ◽  
Sanjiveeni Dhamgaye ◽  
Indresh Kumar Maurya ◽  
Ashutosh Singh ◽  
Monika Sharma ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCurcumin (CUR) shows antifungal activity against a range of pathogenic fungi, includingCandida albicans. The reported mechanisms of action of CUR include reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, defects in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway, decrease in hyphal development, and modulation of multidrug efflux pumps. Reportedly, each of these pathways is independently linked to the cell wall machinery inC. albicans, but surprisingly, CUR has not been previously implicated in cell wall damage. In the present study, we performed transcriptional profiling to identify the yet-unidentified targets of CUR inC. albicans. We found that, among 348 CUR-affected genes, 51 were upregulated and 297 were downregulated. Interestingly, most of the cell wall integrity pathway genes were downregulated. The possibility of the cell wall playing a critical role in the mechanism of CUR required further validation; therefore, we performed specific experiments to establish if there was any link between the two. The fractional inhibitory concentration index values of 0.24 to 0.37 show that CUR interacts synergistically with cell wall-perturbing (CWP) agents (caspofungin, calcofluor white, Congo red, and SDS). Furthermore, we could observe cell wall damage and membrane permeabilization by CUR alone, as well as synergistically with CWP agents. We also found hypersusceptibility in calcineurin and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway mutants against CUR, which confirmed that CUR also targets cell wall biosynthesis inC. albicans. Together, these data provide strong evidence that CUR disrupts cell wall integrity inC. albicans. This new information on the mechanistic action of CUR could be employed in improving treatment strategies and in combinatorial drug therapy.


Author(s):  
Neelam Sherwani1 ◽  
Raeid M.M. Abed ◽  
Sergey Dobretsov ◽  
Sheji Mary

In this study, cyanobacterial microbial mats from five hot springs in Oman, namely Al Kasfah Rustaq, Al Thwara Nakhl, Al–Ali Hammam, Gala and Bowsher, were characterized using direct microscopy. Nine monoclonal cyanobacterial cultures were obtained and their extracts in butanol, dichloromethane (DCM) and hexane were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activities. Direct microscopy revealed the presence of 12 different unicellular and filamentous morphotypes, with different distribution in the various mats. Temperature seems to be one of the most important parameters that accounts for the differences in cyanobacterial composition of the mats. Cells of the nine isolates and their aqueous supernatants were subsequently extracted with butanol, DCM and hexane. Dried extracts were tested against nine bacterial (i.e. gram +ve Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and gram –ve, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella choleraesuis, S. enterica, Psuedomonas aeruginosa, Providencia stuartii, and  Acinetobacter calcoaceticus) and two fungal pathogens (Rhizoctonia solani and Pythium sp.). All isolates exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities, which depended mainly on the type of cyanobacterial culture, type of solvent used and the pathogen tested. The highest antibacterial activity was observed in Phormidium species, and butanol was found to be the most appropriate solvent to extract bioactivity from these cyanobacterial species. The results of this study suggest that thermal springs in Oman harbor diverse types of cyanobacteria, which may constitute an important source of antibacterial and antifungal compounds. Further investigation is needed to purify these compounds and find their chemical compositions and modes of action.    


Author(s):  
Leenah Alaalm ◽  
Julia L. Crunden ◽  
Mark Butcher ◽  
Ulrike Obst ◽  
Ryann Whealy ◽  
...  

The highly conserved, ubiquitous molecular chaperone Hsp90 is a key regulator of cellular proteostasis and environmental stress responses. In human pathogenic fungi, which kill more than 1.6 million patients each year worldwide, Hsp90 governs cellular morphogenesis, drug resistance, and virulence. Yet, our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms governing fungal Hsp90 function remains sparse. Post-translational modifications are powerful components of nature’s toolbox to regulate protein abundance and function. Phosphorylation in particular is critical in many cellular signaling pathways and errant phosphorylation can have dire consequences for the cell. In the case of Hsp90, phosphorylation affects its stability and governs its interactions with co-chaperones and clients. Thereby modulating the cell’s ability to cope with environmental stress. Candida albicans, one of the leading human fungal pathogens, causes ~750,000 life-threatening invasive infections worldwide with unacceptably high mortality rates. Yet, it remains unknown if and how Hsp90 phosphorylation affects C. albicans virulence traits. Here, we show that phosphorylation of Hsp90 is critical for expression of virulence traits. We combined proteomics, molecular evolution analyses and structural modeling with molecular biology to characterize the role of Hsp90 phosphorylation in this non-model pathogen. We demonstrated that phosphorylation negatively affects key virulence traits, such as the thermal stress response, morphogenesis, and drug susceptibility. Our results provide the first record of a specific Hsp90 phosphorylation site acting as modulator of fungal virulence. Post-translational modifications of Hsp90 could prove valuable in future exploitations as antifungal drug targets.


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