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Cyclosporine Affects the Main Virulence Factors of Cryptococcus neoformans In Vitro.

Iara Bastos de AndradeDario Corrêa-JuniorVinicius AlvesMaria Helena Galdino Figueiredo-CarvalhoMarcos Vinicius SantosMarcos de Abreu AlmeidaAlessandro Fernandes ValdezLeonardo NimrichterRodrigo Almeida-PaesSusana Frases
Published in: Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
This study aimed to investigate the effects of cyclosporine on the morphology, cell wall structure, and secretion characteristics of Cryptococcus neoformans . The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of cyclosporine was found to be 2 µM (2.4 µg/mL) for the H99 strain. Yeast cells treated with cyclosporine at half the MIC showed altered morphology, including irregular shapes and elongated projections, without an effect on cell metabolism. Cyclosporine treatment resulted in an 18-fold increase in chitin and an 8-fold increase in lipid bodies, demonstrating changes in the fungal cell wall structure. Cyclosporine also reduced cell body and polysaccharide capsule diameters, with a significant reduction in urease secretion in C. neoformans cultures. Additionally, the study showed that cyclosporine increased the viscosity of secreted polysaccharides and reduced the electronegativity and conductance of cells. The findings suggest that cyclosporine has significant effects on C. neoformans morphology, cell wall structure, and secretion, which could have implications for the development of new antifungal agents.
Keyphrases
  • cell wall
  • induced apoptosis
  • cell cycle arrest
  • single cell
  • escherichia coli
  • staphylococcus aureus
  • pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • cell therapy
  • candida albicans
  • biofilm formation
  • stem cells
  • smoking cessation
  • bone marrow