Ridaforolimus体外单独或联合氟康唑抗念珠菌作用的研究

由念珠菌感染引起的侵袭性念珠菌病治疗困难、死亡率高,是临床一大难题。氟康唑是目前治疗该病的一线用药,但近年来耐药菌株逐渐增多,治疗困难。因此,开发新的有效抗真菌药物或发现可提高现有抗真菌药物活性的化合物十分必要。通过体外抗真菌药物敏感性试验,我们发现TOR通路抑制剂ridaforolimus具有抗念珠菌作用。随后我们通过纸片法及微量液基稀释法评价该化合物单独或与氟康唑联合对念珠菌的抗菌效果。结果表明ridaforolimus对念珠菌有杀伤作用,在与氟康唑联合时增强了氟康唑的抗念珠菌能力,逆转了白念珠菌对氟康唑的耐药,并将氟康唑由抑菌剂转化为杀菌剂。本研究为ridaforolimus作为新型抗真菌药及氟康唑增敏剂提供了一定理论基础。     

罗米地辛对氟康唑体外抗白念珠菌影响的研究

目的检测罗米地辛对氟康唑体外抗白念珠菌活性作用的影响。方法参考CLSI的M27-A3方案检测氟康唑对受试白念珠菌的最低抑菌浓度(MIC),以及不同浓度罗米地辛联合氟康唑检测其对受试白念珠菌的抗真菌效果。结果受试菌包括氟康唑敏感株、剂量依赖株、耐药株各5株。2μg/mL罗米地辛和4μg/mL罗米地辛联合氟康唑对氟康唑的抗真菌活性有增效作用,表现为MIC值降低、菌量减少和抑制拖尾现象。结论罗米地辛对氟康唑体外抗白念珠菌活性的增效作用,可抑制氟康唑的拖尾现象。     

中药抗白念珠菌研究新进展

以白念珠菌为主的真菌感染近年来呈上升态势,氟康唑等一线抗真菌药物因长期应用导致耐药菌株不断出现,中药在抗真菌感染方面具有独特的优势。本课题组在多项国家与省级课题资助下,对中药的体内外抗真菌作用及机制进行了较系统深入的研究,现结合课题组自身与国内外在中药抗真菌感染领域的最新研究成果,对中药抗真菌(主要是白念珠菌)近5年的研究进展进行综述。     

复发性外阴阴道念珠菌病的致病菌种鉴定及药敏试验分析

目的 了解STD门诊复发性外阴道念珠菌病(RVVC)和外阴阴道念珠菌病(VVC)的致病菌种分布及对常用抗真菌药物的敏感状况,为临床治疗提供参考.方法 用沙氏琼脂培养基分离纯化菌株,然后用ATB ID 32C酵母菌鉴定系统和ATB Fungus3药敏系统进行菌种鉴定与药物敏感试验.结果 280份标本中检出白色念珠菌201株,占71.79％;非白色念珠菌79株,占28.21％,其中光滑念珠菌42株,占15％.VVC组与RVVC组抗真菌药物比较,VVC组对氟康唑的敏感率高于RVVC组,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).结论 STD门诊患者阴道念珠菌病检出菌种仍以白色念珠菌为主,但RVVC组非白色念珠菌比例高于VVC组.非白色念珠菌中光滑念珠菌占比例最高.VVC组氟康唑的敏感率高于RVVC组.     

芒果苷协同氟康唑抗耐药白念珠菌作用研究

目的研究芒果苷与氟康唑合用对唑类耐药白念珠菌协同抗真菌的作用和机制。方法采用棋盘式微量稀释法测试芒果苷协同氟康唑对22株耐药白念珠菌的最小抑菌浓度MIC80;时间-杀菌曲线探究两药联用对4株耐药白念珠菌生长的抑制作用;药物生长抑制实验实验探究不同浓度芒果苷和不同浓度氟康唑协同抗耐药白念珠菌药效;通过实时定量RT-PCR检测两药联用时耐药基因CDR1、CDR2、MDR1表达水平。结果芒果苷联合氟康唑可产生协同抗唑类白念珠菌作用,协同指数(FICI)0.5;两药合用对白念珠菌生长可产生抑制作用;两药合用降低耐药基因CDR1表达水平。结论芒果苷与氟康唑合用可产生协同抗唑类耐药白念珠菌作用。     

卷柏素对唑类药物体外抗念株菌的增效作用

本文研究中药卷柏中炔多酚类成分卷柏素与氟康唑、酮康唑联用对念珠菌的体外抗真菌效果,并初步探讨对氟康唑增效的分子机制。采用棋盘法测定两类药物联用对念珠菌体外抗真菌活性,以FICI法评价结果。实验结果表明,卷柏素与氟康唑、酮康唑合用对白念珠菌、近平滑念珠菌表现协同作用(FICI≤0. 5);对克柔念珠菌表现无关作用(FICI=1)。qRT-PCR检测卷柏素与氟康唑联用对白念株菌相关基因表达的影响显示,卷柏素能显著地逆转氟康唑诱导白念珠菌ERG5、ERG11、CDR1、CDR2、MDR1、FLU1和SIR2表达上调。Western-blot检测结果亦表明,卷柏素逆转组蛋白去乙酰化酶Sir2的上调。卷柏素显示出对氟康唑、酮康唑的抗念珠菌活性的体外增效作用。     

覆盆子提取物联合唑类药物抗真菌活性研究

目的 探讨中药覆盆子提取物联合唑类药物的体外抗真菌作用.方法 采用CLSI公布的M27-A方案微量液基稀释法和棋盘式微量稀释法,测定覆盆子提取物单用及联合唑类药物对不同念珠菌的MIC值和FICI指数.结果 覆盆子不同溶液提取物与氟康唑均表现出协同关系,以覆盆子醇提物为例,单用对念珠菌的MIC80测定值范围主要集中在0.16～1.25 mg/mL,与氟康唑合用后表现出协同关系(FICI≤0.5),且MIC80测定值范围降至0.01 ～0.04 mg/mL;合用后的氟康唑抗真菌活性也明显增强.另外,覆盆子醇提物与不同唑类药物合用后均有协同关系,其MIC80测定值由单用时大于10 mg/mL降至0.04 mg/mL.结论 覆盆子醇提物和唑类药物单用时对耐药念珠菌的抑菌作用较弱,但二者合用后表现出明显的协同关系,对耐药念珠菌的抑菌作用明显增强.     

骨科内植物念珠菌生物被膜体外模型的构建及药物敏感性

利用24孔板在骨科内植物表面构建骨科内植物念珠菌生物被膜模型,并使用荧光镜检和菌落计数法（colony forming unit,CFU）检测醋酸氯己定（以下简称氯己定）与氟康唑对骨科内植物念珠菌生物被膜的联合抗菌效应。本研究成功在体外构建出骨科内植物念珠菌生物被膜模型,并发现无论是白念珠菌（SC5314）、近平滑念珠菌（ATCC22019）还是克柔念珠菌（ATCC00279）氟康唑单药组组间没有显著性差异;氯己定对骨科内植物念珠菌生物被膜的80%最低抑菌浓度（SMIC80）均≥16μg/mL,氟康唑对念珠菌生物被膜的80%最低抑菌浓度（SMIC80）均>64μg/mL。读取SMIC80时,氯己定与氟康唑的协同率高达100%,而两种药物的联合能够使氟康唑和醋酸氯己定的用药剂量减少4-8倍。本研究还发现在体外白念珠菌（SC5314）、近平滑念珠菌（ATCC22019）、克柔念珠菌（ATCC00279）、氟康唑耐药白念珠菌（64550）以及耳念珠菌（0389）均可以在骨科内植物表面形成真菌生物被膜并对氟康唑产生了耐药性;氯己定与抗真菌药物氟康唑对骨科内植物念珠菌生物被膜的杀伤具有明显的协同作用,且明显减少单药用药剂量。     

白色念珠菌的临床分布及Rosco纸片法药敏结果分析

目的了解目前白色念珠菌的临床分布及其耐药现状,以加强抗真菌药物的合理应用。方法采用Rosco纸片扩散法检测2005年2—9月安徽医科大学第一附属医院临床分离的260株白色念珠菌对7种抗真菌药物的药敏结果。结果白色念珠菌的临床分布以痰液标本为主,老年患者居多。白色念珠菌对制霉菌素、两性霉素B和伊曲康唑的敏感率均较高,分别为98.9％、96．9％和94．2％;其次为酮康唑和氟康唑,敏感率分别为84．6％和82．3％;灰黄霉素、益康唑和眯康唑的敏感率较低,分别为73．9％、57．8％和57．6％。结论临床微生物实验室要加强对白色念珠菌的分离培养和药敏试验,指导临床合理用药,有效控制和减少真菌感染。     

白色念珠菌体外诱导氟康唑耐药性的实验研究（简报）

随着广谱抗生素的普遍应用以及免疫缺陷人群的增加,机会性致病菌念珠菌感染日益增多。深部念珠菌感染已经成为重症患者死亡的重要原因,白色念珠菌(C．albicans)是其中的主要致病菌。低毒广谱的唑类抗真菌药氟康唑是既能治疗严重真菌感染又不会产生明显副作用的少数抗真菌药之一,它的广泛使用取得良好治疗效果,但也导致菌株耐药率增加而使临床治疗失败。近10年来,在治疗     

Calcineurin is essential for survival during membrane stress in Candida albicans

The immunosuppressants cyclosporin A (CsA) and FK506 inhibit the protein phosphatase calcineurin and block T-cell activation and transplant rejection. Calcineurin is conserved in microorganisms and plays a general role in stress survival. CsA and FK506 are toxic to several fungi, but the common human fungal pathogen Candida albicans is resistant. However, combination of either CsA or FK506 with the antifungal drug fluconazole that perturbs synthesis of the membrane lipid ergosterol results in potent, synergistic fungicidal activity. Here we show that the C.albicans FK506 binding protein FKBP12 homolog is required for FK506 synergistic action with fluconazole. A mutation in the calcineurin B regulatory subunit that confers dominant FK506 resistance (CNB1-1/CNB1) abolished FK506-fluconazole synergism. Candida albicans mutants lacking calcineurin B (cnb1/cnb1) were found to be viable and markedly hypersensitive to fluconazole or membrane perturbation with SDS. FK506 was synergistic with fluconazole against azole-resistant C.albicans mutants, against other Candida species, or when combined with different azoles. We propose that calcineurin is part of a membrane stress survival pathway that could be targeted for therapy.     

Carboxylic acid and phosphate ester derivatives of fluconazole: synthesis and antifungal activities

Two classes of fluconazole derivatives, (a) carboxylic acid esters and (b) fatty alcohol and carbohydrate phosphate esters, were synthesized and evaluated in vitro against Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. All carboxylic acid ester derivatives of fluconazole (1a-l), such as O-2-bromooctanoylfluconazole (1g, MIC=111 microg/mL) and O-11-bromoundecanoylfluconazole (1j, MIC=198 microg/mL), exhibited higher antifungal activity than fluconazole (MIC > or = 4444 microg/mL) against C. albicans ATCC 14053 in SDB medium. Several fatty alcohol phosphate triester derivatives of fluconazole, such as 2a, 2b, 2f, 2g, and 2h, exhibited enhanced antifungal activities against C. albicans and/or A. niger compared to fluconazole in SDB medium. For example, 2-cyanoethyl-omega-undecylenyl fluconazole phosphate (2b) with MIC value of 122 microg/mL had at least 36 times greater antifungal activity than fluconazole against C. albicans in SDB medium. Methyl-undecanyl fluconazole phosphate (2f) with a MIC value of 190 microg/mL was at least 3-fold more potent than fluconazole against A. niger ATCC 16404. All compounds had higher estimated lipophilicity and dermal permeability than those for fluconazole. These results demonstrate the potential of these antifungal agents for further development as sustained-release topical antifungal chemotherapeutic agents.     

地塞米松影响念珠菌对抗真菌药物敏感性的实验研究

目的 探讨地塞米松在体外试验中是否影响念珠菌对抗真菌药物的敏感性,以了解糖皮质激素与抗真菌药物直接作用于念珠菌时是否存在相互作用。方法 用微量液体培养基稀释法分别测定26株白念珠菌与地塞米松（0．2mg／ml）共同孵育前、孵育24～48h及7d时氟康唑、伊曲康唑、两性霉素B的最低抑菌浓度（MIC）值,并作对照。结果 白念珠菌与地塞米松孵育24～48h后、孵育后第7d氟康唑和伊曲康唑的MIC值升高,分别与孵育前的MIC值存在统计学差异,但孵育24～48h后的MIC与孵育后第7d的MIC无统计学差异;白念珠菌与地塞米松共同孵育24～48h后两性霉素B的MIC值也较孵育前升高,但第7d的MIC值与孵育前无差异。结论 地塞米松可增加三种抗真菌药物对于白念珠菌的MIC,但三种抗真菌药物间存在差异,表明地塞米松对于氟康唑和伊曲康唑体外抗白念珠菌的活性有拮抗作用,但没有时间依赖性,地塞米松对于两性霉素B的影响较氟康唑和伊曲康唑小,且影响时间较短。     

Chemogenomic profiling predicts antifungal synergies

Chemotherapies, HIV infections, and treatments to block organ transplant rejection are creating a population of immunocompromised individuals at serious risk of systemic fungal infections. Since single‐agent therapies are susceptible to failure due to either inherent or acquired resistance, alternative therapeutic approaches such as multi‐agent therapies are needed. We have developed a bioinformatics‐driven approach that efficiently predicts compound synergy for such combinatorial therapies. The approach uses chemogenomic profiles in order to identify compound profiles that have a statistically significant degree of similarity to a fluconazole profile. The compounds identified were then experimentally verified to be synergistic with fluconazole and with each other, in both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Our method is therefore capable of accurately predicting compound synergy to aid the development of combinatorial antifungal therapies.     

Ibuprofen reverts antifungal resistance on Candida albicans showing overexpression of CDR genes

Several mechanisms may be associated with Candida albicans resistance to azoles. Ibuprofen was described as being able to revert resistance related to efflux activity in Candida . The aim of this study was to uncover the molecular base of antifungal resistance in C. albicans clinical strains that could be reverted by ibuprofen. Sixty-two clinical isolates and five control strains of C. albicans were studied: the azole susceptibility phenotype was determined according to the Clinical Laboratory for Standards Institute, M27-A2 protocol and minimal inhibitory concentration values were recalculated with ibuprofen (100 μg mL⁻¹); synergistic studies between fluconazole and FK506, a Cdr1p inhibitor, were performed using an agar disk diffusion assay and were compared with ibuprofen results. Gene expression was quantified by real-time PCR, with and without ibuprofen, regarding CDR1 , CDR2 , MDR1 , encoding for efflux pumps, and ERG11 , encoding for azole target protein. A correlation between susceptibility phenotype and resistance gene expression profiles was determined. Ibuprofen and FK506 showed a clear synergistic effect when combined with fluconazole. Resistant isolates reverting to susceptible after incubation with ibuprofen showed CDR1 and CDR2 overexpression especially of the latter. Conversely, strains that did not revert displayed a remarkable increase in ERG11 expression along with CDR genes. Ibuprofen did not alter resistance gene expression significantly ( P >0.05), probably acting as a Cdrp blocker.     

The synergism of antifungals and essential oils against Candida spp. evaluated by a modified gradient-diffusion method

The usefulness of modified method of MIC Test Strip, for determining the synergistic effect of essential oils in the liquid or volatile phase with fluconazole and voriconazole, was evaluated. Geranium oil used against C. albicans in agar dilution test, at a concentration of 1/2 MIC caused a drop in the value of fluconazole MIC from 12.0 mg/l to 0.064 mg/l and voriconazole from 0.125 mg/l to 0.006 mg/l. A similar effect of drug combinations with essential oils was obtained in the case of C. glabrata study. Volatile Clove oil and cytronelal, applied in subMIC concentrations, also caused a reduction offluconazole and voriconazole MICs. Thus, utility of this simple methods developed by us for testing the effectiveness of combinations of known drugs and new compounds with antifungal activity, has been confirmed.     

In vitro activity of propyl gallate-azole drug combination against fluconazole- and itraconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains

AIMS: The influence of an antioxidant, propyl gallate (PG), on the in vitro antifungal activity of itraconazole and fluconazole, was investigated to determine whether PG could increase the antifungal activity and reduce strain resistance. METHODS AND RESULTS: Susceptibility tests were performed against azole-resistant isolates of Candida albicans by the microbroth dilution method in the presence of PG at 400 microg ml-1. PG-triazole combination brought about a marked reduction of inhibitory azole concentration. In particular, the MIC90 for itraconazole and fluconazole dropped from 1 microg ml-1 to 0.125 microg ml-1 and from > 64 microg ml-1-8 microg ml-1, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is likely that more than one mechanism is involved in the above synergistic interaction, including effects of PG on ATP synthesis, thus reducing the ABC transporters activity, or an effect on the target of azole, i.e. the P-450 cytochrome. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The PG-triazole combination may have a role in future topical antifungal strategies but other studies are warranted.     

Calcineurin A of Candida albicans: involvement in antifungal tolerance,cell morphogenesis and virulence

The azole antifungal fluconazole possesses only fungistatic activity in Candida albicans and, therefore, this human pathogen is tolerant to this agent. However, tolerance to fluconazole can be inhibited when C. albicans is exposed to fluconazole combined with the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A, which is known to inhibit calcineurin activity in yeast. A mutant lacking both alleles of a gene encoding the calcineurin A subunit (CNA) lost viability in the presence of fluconazole, thus making calcineurin essential for fluconazole tolerance. Consistent with this observation, tolerance to fluconazole was modulated by calcium ions or by the expression of a calcineurin A derivative autoactivated by the removal of its C-terminal inhibitory domain. Interestingly, CNA was also essential for tolerance to other antifungal agents (voriconazole, itraconazole, terbinafine, amorolfine) and to several other metabolic inhibitors (caffeine, brefeldin A, mycophenolic acid, fluphenazine) or cell wall-perturbing agents (SDS, calcofluor white, Congo red), thus indicating that the calcineurin pathway plays an important role in the survival of C. albicans in the presence of external growth inhibitors. Several genes, including PMC1, a vacuolar calcium P-type ATPase, were regulated in a calcineurin- and fluconazole-dependent manner. However, PMC1 did not play a direct role in the survival of C. albicans when exposed to fluconazole. In addition to these different properties, calcineurin was found to affect colony morphology in several media known to modulate the C. albicans dimorphic switch. In particular, calcineurin was found to be essential for C. albicans viability in serum-containing media. Finally, calcineurin was found to be necessary for the virulence of C. albicans in a mice model of infection, thus making calcineurin an important element for adequate adaptation to the conditions of the host environment.     

The effects of fluconazole and cytokines on human mononuclear cells

Candida infections are common infections and fluconazole is one of the most frequently administered antifungal agents in their treatment. The resistance developed against antifungal agents has necessitated the improvement of new treatments. This study focuses on the investigation of the effect of fluconazole and cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on chemokine production and anticandidal activity of human monocytes. In the study it was observed that GM-CSF caused an increase in candidacidal activity of monocytes. Anticandidal activity of GM-CSF + IFN-gamma combination was not found to be more effective than GM-CSF or IFN-gamma alone. The presence of cytokine and fluconazole caused an increase in the levels of CCL3 and CCL4 chemokines. Accordingly, it was considered that chemokines could contribute to the efficacy of fluconazole in C. albicans infections. Besides, in order to strengthen the immune system some cytokines might be used in addition to antifungal agents for the treatment.     

Mechanisms of antifungal resistance

The many drugs that are available at present to treat fungal infections can be divided into four broad groups on the basis of their mechanism of action. These antifungal agents either inhibit macromolecule synthesis (flucytosine), impair membrane barrier function (polyenes), inhibit ergosterol synthesis (allylamines, thiocarbamates, azole derivatives, morpholines), or interact with microtubules (griseofulvin). Drug resistance has been identified as the major cause of treatment failure among patients treated with flucytosine. A lesion in the UMP-pyrophosphorylase is the most frequent clinical determinant of resistance to 5FC in Candida albicans. Despite extensive use of polyene antibiotics for more than 30 years, emergence of acquired resistance seems not be a significant clinical problem. Polyene-resistant Candida isolates have a marked decrease in their ergosterol content. Acquired resistance to allylamines has not been reported from human pathogens, but, resistant phenotypes have been reported for variants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and of Ustilago maydis. Tolerance to morpholines is seldom found. Intrinsic resistance to griseofulvin is due to the absence of a prolonged energy-dependent transport system for this antibiotic. Resistance to azole antifungal agents is known to be exceptional, although it does now appear to be increasing in importance in some groups of patients infected with e.g. Candida spp., Histoplasma capsulatum or Cryptococcus neoformans. For example, resistance to fluconazole is emerging in C. albicans, the major agent of oro-pharyngeal candidosis in AIDS patients, after long-term suppressive therapy. In the majority of cases, primary and secondary resistance to fluconazole and cross-resistance to other azole antifungal agents seems to originate from decreased intracellular accumulation of the azoles, which may result from reduced uptake or increased efflux of the molecules. In most C. albicans isolates the decreased intracellular levels can be correlated with enhanced azole efflux, a phenomenon linked to an increase in the amounts of mRNA of a C. albicans ABC transporter gene CDR1 and of a gene (BEN(r) or CaMDR) coding for a transporter belonging to the class of major facilitator multidrug efflux transporters. Not only fluconazole, ketoconazole and itraconazole are substrates for CDR1, terbinafine and amorolfine have also been established as substrates, BEN(r) overexpression only accounts for fluconazole resistance. Other sources of resistance: changes in membrane sterols and phospholipids, altered or overproduced target enzyme(s) and compensatory mutations in the Delta5,6-desaturase.