Abstract
Systemic candidiasis, which is mainly caused by Candida albicans, is a serious acute fungal infection in the clinical setting. In a previous study, we reported that compound 22h (designated as AB-22 in this study), a vinyl sulfate compound, is a fast-acting fungicidal agent against a broad spectrum of fungal pathogens. In this study, we aimed to further analyze the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of AB-22 against filamentation, biofilm formation, and virulence of C. albicans. Under in vitro hyphal growth-inducing condition, AB-22 effectively inhibited germ tube formation and hyphal growth, which are required for the initiation of biofilm formation. Indeed, AB-22 significantly suppressed C. albicans biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, AB-22 treatment inhibited the normal induction of ALS3, HWP1, and ECE1, which are all required for hyphal transition in C. albicans. Furthermore, AB-22 treatment increased the survival of mice systemically infected with C. albicans. In conclusion, in addition to its fungicidal activity, AB-22 inhibits filamentation and biofilm formation in C. albicans, which could collectively contribute to its potent in vivo efficacy against systemic candidiasis.
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This study was supported by the Korea Health Technology R&D Project (HI20C0326 to J.-S.L. and K.-T.L.) by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea.
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All animal experiments were performed in accordance with the guidelines of the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Institutional Animal Care and Use in the NDIC (approved No. P201099 and P201103).
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The authors declare the following competing financial interests: AmtixBio, Co., Ltd., Yonsei University, and Korea University of Science and Technology have jointly filed patent applications (Korea Patent No. 10-2021-0194152 and PCT/KR2021/020377) related to in vivo efficacy of AB-22. Y.-S.B. is scientific co-founder and J.-S.L. is chief executive officer of AmtixBio, Co., Ltd. Y.-S.B. and J.-S.L. are stockholders of AmtixBio, Co., Ltd. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Lee, KT., Lee, DG., Choi, J.W. et al. The novel antifungal agent AB-22 displays in vitro activity against hyphal growth and biofilm formation in Candida albicans and potency for treating systemic candidiasis. J Microbiol. 60, 438–443 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-022-2016-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-022-2016-0