Kovács Renátó, Jakab Ágnes
Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei Krt. 98., 4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
Medical Microbiology, Clinical Centre, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei Krt. 98., 4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2025 Sep 12;109(1):201. doi: 10.1007/s00253-025-13595-y.
Quorum sensing is a cell density-dependent microbial communication form, which can regulate several microbial properties, including virulence, biofilm formation and cell-cell competence. The phenomenon of fungal quorum sensing was first uncovered nearly 25 years ago, following the identification of farnesol and tyrosol as two key signalling molecules. Although the major roles of these regulatory molecules were elucidated, several questions primarily regarding tyrosol-mediated effects remain to be addressed, particularly with regard to molecular events influenced by tyrosol. Based on available literature data, tyrosol possesses potential antifungal activity, especially at supraphysiological concentrations. Moreover, its simultaneous usage with traditional antifungals shows potent synergistic activity against planktonic and sessile Candida cells, including both Candida albicans and certain non-albicans species. Currently, the deep molecular tyrosol-based investigations are still in their infancy compared with farnesol research. However, several promising findings were published in the past 10 years in terms of the potential usage of this compound as an alternative therapeutic treatment. Hence, this mini review summarizes the major functions of tyrosol as a signaling regulator compound in Candida morphogenesis. Furthermore, we discussed the most promising tyrosol-based in vitro data, which may be a foundation for the future development of in vivo models and ultimately innovative therapeutic strategies against fungal infections. KEY POINTS: • Tyrosol is a major quorum-sensing molecule in Candida species, promoting yeast-to-hyphae transition and biofilm formation • Tyrosol has been shown to potentiate the efficacy of conventional antifungal agents, representing a promising adjunctive strategy for the treatment of fungal biofilms • At supraphysiological concentrations, tyrosol induces oxidative stress, negatively influences the intracellular metal homeostasis and alters the fungal metabolism.
群体感应是一种细胞密度依赖性的微生物通讯形式，它可以调节多种微生物特性，包括毒力、生物膜形成和细胞间感受态。真菌群体感应现象大约在25年前首次被发现，当时法尼醇和酪醇被鉴定为两种关键信号分子。尽管这些调节分子的主要作用已得到阐明，但一些主要关于酪醇介导效应的问题仍有待解决，特别是关于受酪醇影响的分子事件。根据现有文献数据，酪醇具有潜在的抗真菌活性，尤其是在超生理浓度下。此外，它与传统抗真菌药物同时使用时，对浮游和固着的念珠菌细胞，包括白色念珠菌和某些非白色念珠菌物种，显示出强大的协同活性。目前，与法尼醇研究相比，基于酪醇的深入分子研究仍处于起步阶段。然而，在过去10年里，就该化合物作为替代治疗方法的潜在用途发表了一些有前景的研究结果。因此，本综述总结了酪醇作为念珠菌形态发生中信号调节化合物的主要功能。此外，我们讨论了最有前景的基于酪醇的体外数据，这可能为未来体内模型的开发以及最终针对真菌感染的创新治疗策略奠定基础。要点：• 酪醇是念珠菌属中的一种主要群体感应分子，促进酵母向菌丝的转变和生物膜形成 • 酪醇已被证明可增强传统抗真菌药物的疗效，是治疗真菌生物膜的一种有前景的辅助策略 • 在超生理浓度下，酪醇会诱导氧化应激，对细胞内金属稳态产生负面影响并改变真菌代谢。
