Changes in the Ultrastructure of Candida albicans Treated with Cationic Peptides.

Alina Grigor’eva,Dmitrii Pyshnyi,Anastasiya Tupitsyna,Maksim Kleshev,Nariman Amirkhanov,Nina Tikunova,Elena Ryabchikova,Alevtina Bardasheva

doi:10.3390/microorganisms8040582

Alina Grigor’eva, Dmitrii Pyshnyi + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8040582

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Abstract

Candida albicans is becoming increasingly harmful for humans, which determines the need for new effective antifungal preparations. Currently, when testing antifungals, various morphological methods are used, among which transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is not the leading one. In this work, we used TEM to study the submicroscopic changes in C. albicans cells induced by cationic peptides R9F2 and (KFF)3K. Studies were performed on C. albicans-34 strain from the Collection of EMTC of ICBFM SB RAS in logarithmic phase. R9F2 and (KFF)3K showed an antifungal effect (MIC 10 and 20 μM) and suppressed fungal hyphal growth. Semithin and ultrathin sections of fungal suspensions incubated with 10 μM of peptides were studied at regular intervals from 15 min to 24 h. The first target of both peptides was plasmalemma, and its “alignment” was the only common morphological manifestation of their effect. Other changes in the plasmalemma and alteration of the vacuole and cell wall ultrastructure distinctly differed in cells treated with R9F2 and (KFF)3K peptides. In general, our work has shown pronounced differences of the temporal and morphologic characteristics of the effect of peptides, evidently related to their physicochemical properties. The benefit of TEM studies of ultrathin sections for understanding the mechanisms of action of antifungal drugs is shown.

Highlights

Candida albicans, an ordinary inhabitant of the human mucous membranes, is becoming increasingly harmful for humans, causing a local and generalized infection that requires long-term treatment
Candida albicans is becoming increasingly harmful for humans, which determines the need for new effective antifungal preparations
We used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study the submicroscopic changes in C. albicans cells induced by cationic peptides R9F2 and (KFF)3K

Summary

Introduction

An ordinary inhabitant of the human mucous membranes, is becoming increasingly harmful for humans, causing a local and generalized infection that requires long-term treatment. Worrisome prospects of the non-peaceful coexistence of humankind and fungi of the Candida genus, including C. albicans, are analyzed in many reviews that definitely substantiate the need for new antifungal drugs [5,6,7,8]. Antifungal peptides (AFPs) are a subclass of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and are considered promising compounds for creating effective antifungal drugs [10,11,12,13]. The antifungal effect of peptides isolated from plants [15], insects [16], fish [17], human saliva [18], chromogranin A [19], human RNAase [13], and others has been reported

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