Sulfur Metabolism as a Promising Source of New Antifungal Targets.

Jorge Amich

doi:10.3390/jof8030295

Abstract

Fungal infections are a growing threat to human health. Despite their clinical relevance, there is a surprisingly limited availability of clinically approved antifungal agents, which is seriously aggravated by the recent appearance and fast spread of drug resistance. It is therefore clear that there is an urgent need for novel and efficient antifungals. In this context, metabolism is recognized as a promising source for new antifungal targets and, indeed, there are new drugs in development that target metabolic pathways. Fungal sulfur metabolism is particularly interesting, as many of its processes are essential for viability and/or pathogenicity and it shows substantial differences with human metabolism. This short-review will summarize our current knowledge of sulfur-related genes and routes that are important for Aspergillus fumigatus virulence, which consequently could be pursued for drug development.

Highlights

Metabolism as a Promising Source of Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitously distributed, saprophytic filamentous fungus
It is not the aim of this short review to enter into details about the different types of aspergilloses, yet it is important to mention that a common characteristic of all of them is the germination and growth of Aspergillus spp. in the respiratory tract
Having demonstrated that a proper regulation of sulfur assimilation is crucial for virulence, we aimed to determine the sulfur source(s) that A. fumigatus exploits during intrapulmonary growth

Summary

Introduction

Metabolism as a Promising Source of Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitously distributed, saprophytic filamentous fungus. Aspergillosis is a general term to denote a spectrum of respiratory diseases, which can be broadly classified in three major subtypes: allergic, chronic and invasive [6,7] It is not the aim of this short review to enter into details about the different types of aspergilloses, yet it is important to mention that a common characteristic of all of them is the germination and (some level) growth of Aspergillus spp. Some have the same targets, theIIsame targets, yet have(for superior characteristics to drugs current agents, and some yet have superior characteristics compared to current agents, and some have completely have completely new mechanisms of action This promising perspective is only possible mechanisms of action. Antifungals approved and promising agents in development In this respect, this review summarises the work we have performed in recent years.

Overview

Conclusions and Perspectives