College of Medical Technology, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan 611137, China.
Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan 610075, China.
J Appl Microbiol. 2023 Nov 1;134(11). doi: 10.1093/jambio/lxad276.
This study aimed to investigate whether berberine (BBR) can inhibit the iron reduction mechanism of Candida albicans, lowering the iron uptake of the yeast and perhaps having antimicrobial effects.
We determined that BBR may cause extensive transcriptional remodeling in C. albicans and that iron permease Ftr1 played a crucial role in this process through eukaryotic transcriptome sequencing. Mechanistic research showed that BBR might selectively inhibit the iron reduction pathway to lower the uptake of exogenous iron ions, inhibiting C. albicans from growing and metabolizing. Subsequent research revealed that BBR caused significant mitochondrial dysfunction, which triggered the process of mitochondrial autophagy. Moreover, we discovered that C. albicans redox homeostasis, susceptibility to antifungal drugs, and hyphal growth are all impacted by the suppression of this mechanism by BBR.
The iron reduction mechanism in C. albicans is disrupted by BBR, which disrupts mitochondrial function and inhibits fungal growth. These findings highlight the potential promise of BBR in antifungal applications.
本研究旨在探讨小檗碱（BBR）是否能抑制白色念珠菌的铁还原机制，降低酵母对铁的摄取，从而可能具有抗菌作用。
我们发现 BBR 可能导致白色念珠菌中广泛的转录重编程，并且铁渗透酶 Ftr1 通过真核转录组测序在此过程中发挥关键作用。机制研究表明，BBR 可能选择性地抑制铁还原途径，降低外源性铁离子的摄取，从而抑制白色念珠菌的生长和代谢。随后的研究表明，BBR 导致显著的线粒体功能障碍，从而引发线粒体自噬过程。此外，我们发现 BBR 抑制该机制会影响白色念珠菌的氧化还原稳态、对抗真菌药物的敏感性和菌丝生长。
BBR 破坏了白色念珠菌的铁还原机制，破坏了线粒体功能并抑制了真菌的生长。这些发现突显了 BBR 在抗真菌应用中的潜力。
