Scorzoni Liliana, Menezes Raquel T DE, Pereira Thais C, Oliveira Priscila S, Ribeiro Felipe DE Camargo, Santos Evelyn Luzia DE Souza, Fugisaki Luciana R O, Oliveira Luciane D DE, Amorim JosÉ Benedito O
São Paulo State University (UNESP), Department of Biosciences and Oral Diagnosis, Institute of Science and Technology, Avenida Engenheiro Francisco José Longo 777, 12245-000 São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil.
An Acad Bras Cienc. 2020 Dec 11;92(4):e20200703. doi: 10.1590/0001-3765202020200703. eCollection 2020.
Candida is a human fungal pathogen that causes a wide range of diseases. Candida albicans is the main etiologic agent in these diseases; however, infections can be caused by non-albicans Candida species. Virulence factors such as biofilm production, which protect the fungus from host immunity and anti-fungal drugs, are important for the infection. Therefore, available antifungal drugs for candidiasis treatment are limited and the investigation of new and effective drugs is needed. Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker with an inhibitory effect on hyphae development, adhesion, and colonization of C. albicans. In this study, we investigated the effect of verapamil on cell viability and its antifungal and anti-biofilm activity in non-albicans Candida species. Verapamil was not toxic to keratinocyte cells; moreover, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, and C. glabrata were susceptible to verapamil with a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1250 μM; in addition, this drug displayed fungistatic effect at the evaluated concentrations. After treatment with verapamil, reduced viability, biomass, and mitochondrial activity were observed in biofilms of the non-albicans Candida species C. krusei, C. glabrata, and C. parapsilosis. These findings highlight the importance of the study of verapamil as an alternative treatment for infections caused by non-albicans Candida species.
念珠菌是一种可引发多种疾病的人类真菌病原体。白色念珠菌是这些疾病的主要病原体；然而，非白色念珠菌也可引发感染。生物膜形成等毒力因子对感染很重要，因为它可保护真菌免受宿主免疫和抗真菌药物的影响。因此，用于治疗念珠菌病的现有抗真菌药物有限，需要研究新的有效药物。维拉帕米是一种钙通道阻滞剂，对白色念珠菌的菌丝发育、黏附和定植具有抑制作用。在本研究中，我们调查了维拉帕米对非白色念珠菌的细胞活力及其抗真菌和抗生物膜活性的影响。维拉帕米对角质形成细胞无毒；此外，克鲁斯念珠菌、近平滑念珠菌和光滑念珠菌对维拉帕米敏感，最小抑菌浓度（MIC）为1250μM；此外，该药物在评估浓度下显示出抑菌作用。用维拉帕米处理后，观察到非白色念珠菌克鲁斯念珠菌、光滑念珠菌和近平滑念珠菌生物膜的活力、生物量和线粒体活性降低。这些发现凸显了研究维拉帕米作为治疗非白色念珠菌感染替代疗法的重要性。
