Lasioglossins LLIII affects the morphogenesis of Candida albicans and reduces the duration of experimental vaginal candidiasis in mice

ABSTRACT Lasioglossins represent a group of peptides with identified antimicrobial activity. We investigated the inhibitory effects of two synthetic lasioglossin derivatives LLIII and D‐isomeric variant LLIII‐D on the morphological changes of Candida albicans in vitro and the effect of local administration of LLIII during experimental murine candidiasis.C. albicans blastoconidia were grown in the presence of lasioglossin LLIII or LLIII‐D at the concentration of 11.5 μM and 21 μM for 1, 2, and 3 days and the viability was determined by flow cytometry using Eosin Y staining. The morphological changes were determined by light and fluorescent microscopy. The Candida‐inhibitory effect of daily intravaginal administration of 0.7 or 1.4 μg of LLIII was estimated in experimentally‐induced vaginal candidiasis of mice.LLIII and LLIII‐D lasioglossins exhibited candidacidal activity in vitro (>76 % after 24 h and > 84% after 48 h of incubation). After 72 h incubation of Candida with low concentration of lasioglossins, increase in the viability was detected, probably due to a Candida antimicrobial peptides evasion strategy. Furthermore, lasioglossins inhibited the temperature‐induced morphotype changes toward hyphae and pseudohyphae with a sporadic occurrence of atypical two‐ or enlarged‐nuclei cells supposing interference with mitosis or cytokinesis. Local application of LLIII reduced duration of experimental candidiasis without evidences of side effects.Lasiog...
Source: Microbiology and Immunology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research