Isoespintanol Antifungal Activity Involves Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Inhibition of Biofilm Formation, and Damage to Cell Wall Integrity in Candida tropicalis .
Orfa Inés Contreras MartínezAlberto Angulo OrtízGilmar Santafé-PatiñoAna Peñata-TabordaRicardo Berrio SotoPublished in: International journal of molecular sciences (2023)
The growing increase in infections caused by C. tropicalis , associated with its drug resistance and consequent high mortality, especially in immunosuppressed people, today generates a serious global public health problem. In the search for new potential drug candidates that can be used as treatments or adjuvants in the control of infections by these pathogenic yeasts, the objective of this research was to evaluate the action of isoespintanol (ISO) against the formation of fungal biofilms, the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), and its effect on the integrity of the cell wall. We report the ability of ISO to inhibit the formation of biofilms by up to 89.35%, in all cases higher than the values expressed by amphotericin B (AFB). Flow cytometric experiments using rhodamine 123 (Rh123) showed the ability of ISO to cause mitochondrial dysfunction in these cells. Likewise, experiments using calcofluor white (CFW) and analyzed by flow cytometry showed the ability of ISO to affect the integrity of the cell wall by stimulating chitin synthesis; these changes in the integrity of the wall were also observed through transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These mechanisms are involved in the antifungal action of this monoterpene.
Keyphrases
- cell wall
- candida albicans
- biofilm formation
- flow cytometry
- public health
- oxidative stress
- electron microscopy
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- staphylococcus aureus
- induced apoptosis
- escherichia coli
- cell cycle arrest
- cardiovascular events
- type diabetes
- human health
- cardiovascular disease
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cell proliferation
- fluorescent probe
- climate change
- coronary artery disease