TY - JOUR
T1 - In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Three Synthetic Peptides against Candida auris and Other Candida Species of Medical Importance
AU - Torres, Richar
AU - Barreto-Santamaría, Adriana
AU - Arévalo-Pinzón, Gabriela
AU - Firacative, Carolina
AU - Gómez, Beatriz L
AU - Escandón, Patricia
AU - Patarroyo, Manuel Alfonso
AU - Muñoz, Julián E
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (MINCIENCIAS, Colombia) contract 453-2020, (code: 122284468008), call 844-2019., and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (ABN122), Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Candidiasis is an opportunistic infection affecting immunosuppressed and hospitalized patients, with mortality rates approaching 40% in Colombia. The growing pharmacological resistance of Candida species and the emergence of multidrug-resistant Candida auris are major public health problems. Therefore, different antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are being investigated as therapeutic alternatives to control candidiasis effectively and safely. This work aimed to evaluate the in vitro antifungal activity of three synthetic AMPs, PNR20, PNR20-1, and 35409, against ATCC reference strains of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, and Candida tropicalis, and clinical isolates of C. auris. Antifungal susceptibility testing, determined by broth microdilution, showed that the AMPs have antifungal activity against planktonic cells of all Candida species evaluated. In C. auris and C. albicans, the peptides had an effect on biofilm formation and cell viability, as determined by the XTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Also, morphological alterations in the membrane and at the intracellular level of these species were induced by the peptides, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. In vitro, the AMPs had no cytotoxicity against L929 murine fibroblasts. Our results showed that the evaluated AMPs are potential therapeutic alternatives against the most important Candida species in Colombia and the world.
AB - Candidiasis is an opportunistic infection affecting immunosuppressed and hospitalized patients, with mortality rates approaching 40% in Colombia. The growing pharmacological resistance of Candida species and the emergence of multidrug-resistant Candida auris are major public health problems. Therefore, different antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are being investigated as therapeutic alternatives to control candidiasis effectively and safely. This work aimed to evaluate the in vitro antifungal activity of three synthetic AMPs, PNR20, PNR20-1, and 35409, against ATCC reference strains of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, and Candida tropicalis, and clinical isolates of C. auris. Antifungal susceptibility testing, determined by broth microdilution, showed that the AMPs have antifungal activity against planktonic cells of all Candida species evaluated. In C. auris and C. albicans, the peptides had an effect on biofilm formation and cell viability, as determined by the XTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Also, morphological alterations in the membrane and at the intracellular level of these species were induced by the peptides, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. In vitro, the AMPs had no cytotoxicity against L929 murine fibroblasts. Our results showed that the evaluated AMPs are potential therapeutic alternatives against the most important Candida species in Colombia and the world.
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U2 - 10.3390/antibiotics12081234
DO - 10.3390/antibiotics12081234
M3 - Article
C2 - 37627654
SN - 2079-6382
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 15
JO - Antibiotics
JF - Antibiotics
IS - 8
M1 - 1234
ER -
