Abstract
Candida albicans is a commensal fungus in humans, mostly found on the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, gut, vagina and skin. Incidence of ever increasing invasive candidiasis in immunocompromised patients, alarming occurrence of antifungal resistance and insufficient diagnostic methods demand more focused research into C. albicans pathogenicity. Consequently, in the present study, oleic acid from Murraya koenigii was shown to have the efficacy to inhibit biofilm formation and virulence of Candida spp. Results of in vitro virulence assays and gene expression analysis, impelled to study the protein targets which are involved in the molecular pathways of C. albicans pathogenicity. Proteomic studies of differentially expressed proteins reveals that oleic acid induces oxidative stress responses and mainly targets the proteins involved in glucose metabolism, ergosterol biosynthesis, lipase production, iron homeostasis and amino acid biosynthesis. The current study emphasizes anti-virulent potential of oleic acid which can be used as a therapeutic agent to treat Candida infections.
Highlights
Candida is a genus of yeast with remarkable phenotypic characteristics and found as a commensal fungus in humans
While most of the implant associated infections are caused by C. albicans biofilm, few non C. albicans Candida species (NCAC) including C. glabrata and C. tropicalis have been reported for their participation in urinary tract and blood stream infections[4]
Results of H2O2 sensitivity assay showed that oleic acid treated C. albicans cells were more sensitive to H2O2 than control
Summary
Candida is a genus of yeast with remarkable phenotypic characteristics and found as a commensal fungus in humans. The pathogenic nature of Candida species is regulated by virulence traits such as morphological transition, contact sensing, biofilm development, invasion, adhesion on the cell surface and hydrolytic enzyme secretion[5]. To overcome these drug resistant and biofilm mediated Candida infections, there is an immediate requirement of alternative anti-pathogenic agents. Medicinal www.nature.com/scientificreports plants have been widely reported for their antimicrobial effect against various bacterial and fungal pathogens. Our research group has recently reported the anti-infective potential of several phytocompounds against bacterial and fungal pathogens. The present study aimed to explore the anti-virulence efficacy of oleic acid derived from Murraya koenigii against Candida spp. through transcriptomic and proteomic approaches
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