Palmitic Acid Inhibits the Virulence Factors of Candida tropicalis: Biofilms, Cell Surface Hydrophobicity, Ergosterol Biosynthesis, and Enzymatic Activity

Abstract

Biofilm is the fortitude of Candida species infections which eventually causes candidiasis in human. C. tropicalis is one of the predominant Candida species commonly found in systemic infections, next to C. albicans. In Candida species, biofilm maturity initiates irreversible surface attachment of cells and barricades the penetration of conventional antifungals. Hence, the current study investigated the antifungal and antivirulence potency of palmitic acid (PA) against C. tropicalis mature biofilm and its associated virulence factors. In vitro results revealed an effective inhibition of biofilm in PA-treated C. tropicalis, compared to C. albicans and C. glabrata. Also, PA reduced C. tropicalis mature biofilm at various time points. Further, PA treatment triggered apoptosis in C. tropicalis through ROS mediated mitochondrial dysfunction as demonstrated by confocal microscopic observation of PI, DAPI and DCFDA staining. PA regulated other virulence factors such as cell surface hydrophobicity, ergosterol biosynthesis, protease and lipase after 48 h of treatment. Downregulation of ERG11 (Lanosterol 14-alpha demethylase) was contributed to the reduction of ergosterol in PA-treated C. tropicalis. However, enhanced hyphal growth was observed in PA-treated C. tropicalis through upregulation HWP1 (Hyphal wall protein) and EFG1 (Enhanced filamentous growth). This study highlighted the antibiofilm and antivirulence potency of PA against C. tropicalis. Hence, PA could be applied synergistically with other antifungal agents to increase the efficacy for regulating NCAC infections.

[Retracted] Newly Synthesized Micro‐Nano Transition Metal Complexes of Hexadecanoic Acid as Anti‐Microbial Agents: Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Investigations

“…These reports can throw more light on the design of bactericidal drugs. Antifungal effects of metal salts of palmitic acid against S. Apiospernum were investigated under different water conditions, indicating that the combination of palmitic acid soap and ultrapure soft water had the strongest antifungal activity [26].…”

Mode of action and efficacy of quinolinic acid for the control of Ceratocystis fimbriata on sweet potato

“…Ergosterol is a sterol found in the membrane of fungi and plays an important role in cell wall stability and integrity 30 . A number of antifungal agents, mainly siderophores based on azole structure, were reported to show a mode of action based on ergosterol biosynthesis inhibition 31‐33 . Most ergosterol inhibitors are able to coordinate with haem iron of lanosterol 14‐α demethylase, blocking the corresponding step in the biosynthesis of ergosterol and reducing ergosterol levels in fungal cells.…”

Antibiofilm and antimicrobial efficacy evaluation of polypyrrole nanotubes embedded in aminated gum acacia based nanocomposite

“…Initially, the bacterial strains were cultured on tryptone soya agar plates, incubated at 37°C for 24 h, and stored at 4°C for further experiments [ 30 ]. C. albicans were cultured in yeast extract peptone dextrose medium (1% yeast extract, 2% peptone, 2% dextrose; Himedia Laboratories) by incubation at 37°C for 12 h at 160 rpm, and stored at 4°C for further experiments [ 31 ]. Before testing, the microbial cultures were subcultured at least twice and grown for 24 h at 37°C on agar plates.…”

“…To visualize the biofilm, glass slides were washed and stained with 0.1% acridine orange for 15 min, removing excess stain. Then, the glass slides were air‐dried and observed under CLSM [ 31 , 35 ].…”