scholarly journals Anti-Fungal Efficacy and Secondary Metabolite Analysis of the Methanolic Extract from Colpomenia peregrina towards Opportunistic Fungal Pathogens

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-100
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Aspergillus Flavus ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Methanolic Extract ◽  
Chemical Shifts ◽  
Brown Seaweed ◽  
Microsporum Gypseum ◽  
Anti Fungal

The present study illustrates the antifungal efficacy of methanolic extract from marine brown seaweed Colopomenia peregrina gathered from Leepuram coast, South India, towards opportunistic fungal pathogens comprising of dermatophytes, non-dermatophytes, and yeasts. The opportunistic fungal pathogens used in the study are Aspergillus flavus (ATCC 27692), Aspergillus fumigatus (ATCC 19673), Microsporum gypseum (ATCC 24102), Cryptococcus neoformans (ATCC 14116), and Candida albicans (ATCC14053) which are commonly responsible for nosocomial infections. The NMR analysis revealed the presence of various chemical shifts showing the presence of protons containing Hydroxyl, Methoxy, Methyl groups, and –COO-CH2 groups.The presence of phytochemicals from the extract of seaweed confirmed the nutritional profile. The results revealed greater efficacy of methanolic extract towards Aspergillus fumigatus, Microsporum gypseum, Cryptococcus neoformans, and lower activity with Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans compared with the standard anti-fungal fluconazole.

scholarly journals Chromatin-Mediated Regulation of Genome Plasticity in Human Fungal Pathogens

Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Buscaino
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Genome Plasticity ◽  
And Function ◽  
Heterochromatin Structure

Human fungal pathogens, such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans, are a public health problem, causing millions of infections and killing almost half a million people annually. The ability of these pathogens to colonise almost every organ in the human body and cause life-threating infections relies on their capacity to adapt and thrive in diverse hostile host-niche environments. Stress-induced genome instability is a key adaptive strategy used by human fungal pathogens as it increases genetic diversity, thereby allowing selection of genotype(s) better adapted to a new environment. Heterochromatin represses gene expression and deleterious recombination and could play a key role in modulating genome stability in response to environmental changes. However, very little is known about heterochromatin structure and function in human fungal pathogens. In this review, I use our knowledge of heterochromatin structure and function in fungal model systems as a road map to review the role of heterochromatin in regulating genome plasticity in the most common human fungal pathogens: Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans.

scholarly journals Dectin-2-Targeted Antifungal Liposomes Exhibit Enhanced Efficacy

mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh Ambati ◽  
Emma C. Ellis ◽  
Jianfeng Lin ◽  
Xiaorong Lin ◽  
Zachary A. Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Effective Dose ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Amphotericin B ◽  
Antifungal Drugs ◽  
Extracellular Matrices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Life Threatening

ABSTRACT Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus fumigatus cause life-threatening candidiasis, cryptococcosis, and aspergillosis, resulting in several hundred thousand deaths annually. The patients at the greatest risk of developing these life-threatening invasive fungal infections have weakened immune systems. The vulnerable population is increasing due to rising numbers of immunocompromised individuals as a result of HIV infection or immunosuppressed individuals receiving anticancer therapies and/or stem cell or organ transplants. While patients are treated with antifungals such as amphotericin B, all antifungals have serious limitations due to lack of sufficient fungicidal effect and/or host toxicity. Even with treatment, 1-year survival rates are low. We explored methods of increasing drug effectiveness by designing fungicide-loaded liposomes specifically targeted to fungal cells. Most pathogenic fungi are encased in cell walls and exopolysaccharide matrices rich in mannans. Dectin-2 is a mammalian innate immune membrane receptor that binds as a dimer to mannans and signals fungal infection. We coated amphotericin-loaded liposomes with monomers of Dectin-2’s mannan-binding domain, sDectin-2. sDectin monomers were free to float in the lipid membrane and form dimers that bind mannan substrates. sDectin-2-coated liposomes bound orders of magnitude more efficiently to the extracellular matrices of several developmental stages of C. albicans, C. neoformans, and A. fumigatus than untargeted control liposomes. Dectin-2-coated amphotericin B-loaded liposomes reduced the growth and viability of all three species more than an order of magnitude more efficiently than untargeted control liposomes and dramatically decreased the effective dose. Future efforts focus on examining pan-antifungal targeted liposomal drugs in animal models of fungal diseases. IMPORTANCE Invasive fungal diseases caused by Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus fumigatus have mortality rates ranging from 10 to 95%. Individual patient costs may exceed $100,000 in the United States. All antifungals in current use have serious limitations due to host toxicity and/or insufficient fungal cell killing that results in recurrent infections. Few new antifungal drugs have been introduced in the last 2 decades. Hence, there is a critical need for improved antifungal therapeutics. By targeting antifungal-loaded liposomes to α-mannans in the extracellular matrices secreted by these fungi, we dramatically reduced the effective dose of drug. Dectin-2-coated liposomes loaded with amphotericin B bound 50- to 150-fold more strongly to C. albicans, C. neoformans, and A. fumigatus than untargeted liposomes and killed these fungi more than an order of magnitude more efficiently. Targeting drug-loaded liposomes specifically to fungal cells has the potential to greatly enhance the efficacy of most antifungal drugs.

Biosynthesis of selenium nanoparticles by Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans and comparison of their effects with antifungal drugs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Hosseini Bafghi ◽  
Razieh Nazari ◽  
Majid Darroudi ◽  
Mohsen Zargar ◽  
Hossein Zarrinfar
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Aspergillus Flavus ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Antifungal Drugs ◽  
Selenium Nanoparticles ◽  
Fungal Strains ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Abstract Biosynthesis of nanoparticles can stand as a replacement for the available chemical and physical methods by offering new procedures as green syntheses that have proved to be simple, biocompatible, safe, and cost-effective. Considering how nanoparticles with a size of 1 to 100 nanometers contain unique physical and chemical properties, recent reports are indicative of observing the antifungal qualities of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs). Recently, the observance of antifungal resistance towards different species of these fungi is often reported. Therefore, due to the antifungal effects of biological nanoparticles, this study aimed to investigate the exertion of these nanoparticles and evaluate their effects on the growth of fungal pathogens. Se-NPs were biosynthesized by the application of wet reduction method, which included specific concentrations of Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans. The presence of nanoparticles was confirmed by methods such as UV-Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR analysis, and FESEM electron microscope that involved FESEM and EDAX diagram. The fungal strains were cultured in sabouraud dextrose agar medium to perform the sensitivity test based on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method in duplicate. The utilization of Se-NPs at concentrations of 1 µg/ ml and below resulted in zero growth of fungal agents. However, their growth was inhibited by antifungal drugs at concentrations of 2 µg/ ml and higher. Based on the obtained results, biological nanoparticles produced by fungal agents at different concentrations exhibited favorable inhibitory effects on the growth of fungal strains.

scholarly journals PRESENTATION PATTERN AND FUNGAL AGENTS SPECTRUM CAUSING OTOMMYCOSIS

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.

scholarly journals Novel Antifungal Compounds Discovered in Medicines for Malaria Venture’s Malaria Box

mSphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric H. Jung ◽  
David J. Meyers ◽  
Jürgen Bosch ◽  
Arturo Casadevall
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Antifungal Activity ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
Cryptococcus Gattii ◽  
Antifungal Drugs ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Malaria Box

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.

Cross-protective TH1 immunity against Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans

Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 117 (22) ◽  
pp. 5881-5891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Stuehler ◽  
Nina Khanna ◽  
Silvia Bozza ◽  
Teresa Zelante ◽  
Silvia Moretti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
Cross Protection ◽  
Th1 Cells ◽  
Receptor Repertoire ◽  
Immunogenic Epitope ◽  
Severe Infections

AbstractT cell–mediated heterologous immunity to different pathogens is promising for the development of immunotherapeutic strategies. Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans, the 2 most common fungal pathogens causing severe infections in immunocompromised patients, are controlled by CD4+ type 1 helper T (TH1) cells in humans and mice, making induction of fungus-specific CD4+ TH1 immunity an appealing strategy for antifungal therapy. We identified an immunogenic epitope of the A fumigatus cell wall glucanase Crf1 that can be presented by 3 common major histocompatibility complex class II alleles and that induces memory CD4+ TH1 cells with a diverse T-cell receptor repertoire that is cross-reactive to C albicans. In BALB/c mice, the Crf1 protein also elicits cross-protection against lethal infection with C albicans that is mediated by the same epitope as in humans. These data illustrate the existence of T cell–based cross-protection for the 2 distantly related clinically relevant fungal pathogens that may foster the development of immunotherapeutic strategies.

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

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.

Lipid peroxidation by alveolar macrophages challenged with Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida albicans or Aspergillus fumigatus

2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 443-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. T. Gross ◽  
K. Hultenby ◽  
S. Mengarelli ◽  
P. Camner ◽  
C. Jarstrand
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Peroxidation ◽  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
Alveolar Macrophages

scholarly journals Discovery of a Novel Antifungal Agent in the Pathogen Box

mSphere ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
François L. Mayer ◽  
James W. Kronstad
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Cryptococcus Neoformans ◽  
High Mortality ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Lead Compound ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Novel Drugs ◽  
Very High ◽  
Hiv Aids

ABSTRACT Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans are two major human fungal pathogens and together account for over 1.4 million infections annually, with very high mortality rates. These fungi often infect immunocompromised individuals, such as HIV/AIDS patients. In an effort to identify novel drugs with antifungal activity, we have screened the Pathogen Box for compounds with anticryptococcal and anticandidal activities. This approach led to the discovery of a promising lead compound (MMV688271) with strong antifungal potency under nutrient-limited conditions. Human fungal pathogens cause over 2 million infections per year and are major drivers of morbidity and mortality. Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans are two of the most common fungal pathogens of humans, together accounting for a staggering 1.4 million infections annually, with very high mortality rates. Patients with dysfunctional immune systems, such as individuals with HIV/AIDS, are particularly susceptible to fungal infections. Unfortunately, relatively few antifungal drugs are currently available and fungi frequently develop resistance, further complicating treatment approaches. In this study, we screened the Pathogen Box chemical library (Medicines for Malaria Venture, Switzerland) in an effort to identify novel antifungal compounds. This approach led to the discovery of a novel, highly potent antifungal agent with activity against both C. neoformans and C. albicans. Our initial study of the mechanism of action suggested that this novel compound prevents fungal proliferation by targeting the ability of C. neoformans to withstand stress at the plasma membrane and cell wall. Because this compound had previously been shown to have low toxicity for mammalian cells, we propose that it represents an attractive lead compound for further antifungal drug development. IMPORTANCE Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans are two major human fungal pathogens and together account for over 1.4 million infections annually, with very high mortality rates. These fungi often infect immunocompromised individuals, such as HIV/AIDS patients. In an effort to identify novel drugs with antifungal activity, we have screened the Pathogen Box for compounds with anticryptococcal and anticandidal activities. This approach led to the discovery of a promising lead compound (MMV688271) with strong antifungal potency under nutrient-limited conditions.

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