Mycology Laboratory, College of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
Health Science Post-graduation program, College of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
Med Mycol. 2021 May 4;59(5):409-421. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myaa115.
Fungal infections are one of the most prevalent diseases in the world and there is a lack of new antifungal drug development for these diseases. We conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding the in vitro antifungal activity of the organoselenium compounds ebselen (Eb) and diphenyl diselenide [(PhSe)2]. A systematic review was carried out based on the search for articles with data concerning Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values, indexed in international databases and published until August 2020. A total of 2337 articles were found, and, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria used, 22 articles were included in the study. Inhibitory activity against 96% (200/208) and 95% (312/328) of the pathogenic fungi tested was described for Eb and [(PhSe)2], respectively. Including in these 536 fungal isolates tested, organoselenium activity was highlighted against Candida spp., Cryptococcus ssp., Trichosporon spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Pythium spp., and Sporothrix spp., with MIC values lower than 64 μg/mL. In conclusion, Eb and [(PhSe)2] have a broad spectrum of in vitro inhibitory antifungal activity. These data added with other pharmacological properties of these organoselenium compounds suggest that both compounds are potential future antifungal drugs. Whether MICs toward the upper end of the ranges described here are compatible with efficacious therapy, and whether they may achieve such end as a result of the favorable non-antimicrobial effects of selenium on the host, requires more in vivo testing.
真菌感染是世界上最普遍的疾病之一，针对这些疾病的新型抗真菌药物研发却乏善可陈。我们对有关有机硒化合物 ebselen (Eb) 和二苯二硒醚 [(PhSe)2] 的体外抗真菌活性的文献进行了系统评价。这项系统评价是基于检索具有最小抑菌浓度 (MIC) 值数据的文章进行的，这些文章被索引在国际数据库中，并发表在 2020 年 8 月之前。共发现 2337 篇文章，根据使用的纳入和排除标准，有 22 篇文章被纳入研究。Eb 和 [(PhSe)2] 对 96% (200/208) 和 95% (312/328) 测试的致病性真菌均表现出抑制活性。在这 536 株真菌分离株中，有机硒对念珠菌属、隐球菌属、毛孢子菌属、曲霉属、镰刀菌属、假丝酵母属和孢子丝菌属具有突出的活性，其 MIC 值低于 64μg/mL。总之，Eb 和 [(PhSe)2] 具有广谱的体外抑制抗真菌活性。这些数据加上这些有机硒化合物的其他药理学特性表明，这两种化合物都可能成为未来有潜力的抗真菌药物。这里描述的范围上限的 MIC 值是否与有效的治疗相兼容，以及它们是否可以通过硒对宿主产生有利的非抗菌作用来实现这样的效果，需要更多的体内测试。
