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Uptake and antifungal activity of oligonucleotides in Candida albicans.

ABSTRACT: Candida albicans is a significant cause of disease in immunocompromised humans. Because the number of people infected by fungal pathogens is increasing, strategies are being developed to target RNAs in fungi. This work shows that oligonucleotides can serve as therapeutics against C. albicans. In particular, oligonucleotides are taken up from cell culture medium in an energy-dependent process. After uptake, oligonucleotides, including RNA, remain mostly intact after 12 h in culture. For culture conditions designed for mammalian cells, intracellular concentrations of oligonucleotides in C. albicans exceed those in COS-7 mammalian cells, suggesting that uptake can provide selective targeting of fungi over human cells. A 19-mer 2'OMe (oligonucleotide with a 2'-O-methyl backbone) hairpin is described that inhibits growth of a C. albicans strain at pH < 4.0. This pH is easily tolerated in some parts of the body subject to C. albicans infections. In vivo dimethyl sulfate modification of ribosomal RNA and the decreased rate of protein synthesis suggest that this hairpin's activity may be due to targeting the ribosome in a way that does not depend on base pairing. Addition of anti-C. albicans oligonucleotides to COS-7 mammalian cells has no effect on cell growth. Evidently, oligonucleotides can selectively serve as therapeutics toward C. albicans and, presumably, other pathogens. Information from genome sequencing and functional genomics studies on C. albicans and other pathogens should allow rapid design and testing of other approaches for oligonucleotide therapies.

SUBMITTER: Disney MD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC149866 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Uptake and antifungal activity of oligonucleotides in Candida albicans.

Disney Matthew D MD Haidaris Constantine G CG Turner Douglas H DH

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20030127 4

Candida albicans is a significant cause of disease in immunocompromised humans. Because the number of people infected by fungal pathogens is increasing, strategies are being developed to target RNAs in fungi. This work shows that oligonucleotides can serve as therapeutics against C. albicans. In particular, oligonucleotides are taken up from cell culture medium in an energy-dependent process. After uptake, oligonucleotides, including RNA, remain mostly intact after 12 h in culture. For culture c ...[more]

PMID: 12552085

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Project description:Candida albicans, a ubiquitous opportunistic fungal pathogen, plays a pivotal role in human health and disease. As a commensal organism, it normally resides harmlessly within the human microbiota. However, under certain conditions, C. albicans can transition into a pathogenic state, leading to various infections collectively known as candidiasis. With the increasing prevalence of immunocompromised individuals and the widespread use of invasive medical procedures, candidiasis has become a significant public health concern. The emergence of drug-resistant strains further complicates treatment options, highlighting the urgent need for alternative therapeutic strategies. Antifungal peptides (AFPs) have gained considerable attention as potential candidates for combating Candida spp. infections. These naturally occurring peptides possess broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, including specific efficacy against C. albicans. AFPs exhibit several advantageous properties, such as rapid killing kinetics, low propensity for resistance development, and diverse mechanisms of action, making them promising alternatives to conventional antifungal agents. In recent years, extensive research has focused on discovering and developing novel AFPs with improved efficacy and selectivity against Candida species. Advances in biotechnology and synthetic peptide design have enabled the modification and optimization of natural peptides, enhancing their stability, bioavailability, and therapeutic potential. Nevertheless, several challenges must be addressed before AFPs can be widely implemented in clinical practice. These include optimizing peptide stability, enhancing delivery methods, overcoming potential toxicity concerns, and conducting comprehensive preclinical and clinical studies. This commentary presents a short overview of candidemia and AFP; articles and reviews published in the last 10 years were searched on The National Library of Medicine (National Center for Biotechnology Information-NIH-PubMed). The terms used were C. albicans infections, antimicrobial peptides, antifungal peptides, antifungal peptides mechanisms of action, candidemia treatments and guidelines, synthetic peptides and their challenges, and antimicrobial peptides in clinical trials as the main ones. Older publications were cited if they brought some relevant concept or helped to bring a perspective into our narrative. Articles older than 20 years and those that appeared in PubMed but did not match our goal to bring updated information about using antifungal peptides as an alternative to C. albicans infections were not considered.

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Uptake and antifungal activity of oligonucleotides in Candida albicans.

Publications

Uptake and antifungal activity of oligonucleotides in Candida albicans.

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