Novel antifungal agents focusing on Candida spp.
Abstract
Candidiasis caused by infection by fungi of Candida spp affect mostly young, elderly and immune compromised patients. C. glabrata infections are persistently occurring despite a number of available antifungal drugs. Vaginal candidiasis continues to be a health problem to women worldwide. A recent study reported that C. albicans occurred at a frequency of 83.02%, C. glabrata at 16.5% and C. tropicalis at 1.2% (22). Another report collected data in tertiary care teaching hospitals in Italy and Spain during the period of 2008-2010 on 995 episodes of candidemia. The overall incidence was 1.55 cases per 1,000 admissions with C. albicans as the leading agent (58.4%), followed by C. parapsilosis complex (19.5%), C. tropicalis (9.3%), and C. glabrata (8.3%)(23). In immune-compromised patients, colonization results in lethal systemic infections and sepsis (10, 13-14). C. glabrata is also causing mucosa-related, oral or urogenital diseases (2, 15). Due to its relatively high resistance against traditional antimycotics (such as Fluconazole) and acquired resistance to echinocandins, this pathogen is considered to be highly emergent, and new therapeutic tools are being actively sought. Common antifungal therapies are only party effective and a next generation of smart compounds are required. We propose here to explore possibilities to interfere with C. glabrata stress resistance and viability. 1) Investigate the phenotypic properties of clinical non-albicans Candida spp strains with regard to environmental sensing to obtain information on the possible role as a virulence factor. 2) Identify peptide-based substances with antifungal properties to interfere with C.glabrata and other fungi.
Candida antimicrobials
Publikationen
Project staff
Christoph Schüller
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Christoph Schüller
christoph.schueller@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-35071, 94488
Project Leader
01.12.2014 - 30.11.2018
Reinhard Beyer
Dipl.-Ing. Reinhard Beyer B.Sc.
Tel: +43 1 47654-94497
Project Staff
01.07.2015 - 30.11.2017