Revealing the impact of Rapamycin on the virulence factors of the complex.

The incidence of invasive fungal infections caused by species is increasing, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. This increasing incidence poses a dual challenge, comprising escalating antifungal resistance and the necessity for accurate fungal identification. The complex further complicates these challenges due to limited identification tools. Like some other species, infections involving this complex show resistance to multiple antifungals, requiring innovative therapeutic approaches. Rapamycin, known for its antifungal properties and immunosuppressive characteristics, was investigated against the complex species. Results revealed a rapamycin minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) range of 0.07 to >20 µM, with fungicidal effects in most strains. analyses using the rapamycin maximum plasma concentration (0.016 µM) showed reduced surface properties and decreased production of extracellular enzymes. Rapamycin also hindered biofilm formation by some strains. Even when treated at the human therapeutic dose, which is lower than the MIC, phenotypic variations in were detected, hinting at the possible attenuation of some virulence factors when exposed to rapamycin.