Catalase plays an essential role in degrading hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which is one of the major enzymatic ROS scavenging mechanisms. Here, using wild-type Candida albicans along with its catalase-deficient mutant, we report that catalase inside fungi could be effectively and universally inactivated by blue light 410 nm, subsequently rendering these pathogens extremely sensitive to H2O2 and ROS-generating agents. This strategy could also significantly eradicate multiple notorious clinical Candida strains, including Candida auris. The antimicrobial efficacy of catalase photoinactivation is further validated using immune cell co-culturing system and a Candida albicans-induced mouse model of skin abrasion. Taken together, our findings offer a novel catalase-targeting approach against multidrug-resistant fungal infections.
Candidemia remains the fourth most common cause of nosocomial bloodstream infections. For more than a half-century, amphotericin B (Amp B) has been the last line of defense in the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections. However, during the past several years, severe infections due to Amp B-resistant Candida spp. isolates have been increasingly reported. Here, through polarization stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, Amp B was found to accumulate largely in the cell membrane of Candida spp. in a highly orientated approach, and the interaction between Amp B and ergosterol was investigated as well. Moreover, we found that the correlation between Amp B and ergosterol in Amp B-susceptible Candida spp. is different from that of Amp B-resistant Candida spp., which provides us important information to understand the working mechanism of Amp B, and to achieve fast determination of the Amp B susceptibility of Candida spp.
Candida auris, the deadly infectious fungus, was reported to infest nearly 60 hospitals and more than 90 nursing homes in New York City. Moreover, these fungal species have developed resistance to all three major anti-fungal drugs. Drug-resistant Candida spp. and other non-albicans have developed multi-drug resistance around the world. Here, we show that, through efficient photoinactivation of an essential detoxifying enzyme which exists in most of the fungal strains, we could achieve significant eradication of those pathogens by subsequent administration of low-concentration of hydrogen peroxide and antifungal drugs. Noteworthy, hydrogen peroxide or antifungal alone is not effective to eradicate them.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.