Development and targeting of transcriptional regulatory network controlling FLU1 activation in Candida albicans for novel antifungals

Anticandidal agent for multiple targets: the next paradigm in the discovery of proficient therapeutics/overcoming drug resistance

Candida albicans is a prominent human fungal pathogen. Current treatments are suffering a massive gap due to emerging resistance against available antifungals. Therefore, there is an ardent need for novel antifungal candidates that essentially have more than one target, as most antifungal repertoires are single-target drugs. Exploration of multiple-drug targeting in antifungal therapeutics is still pending. An extensive literature survey was performed to categorize and comprehend relevant studies and the current therapeutic scenario that led researchers to preferentially consider multitarget drug-based Candida infection therapy. With this article, we identified and compiled a few potent antifungal compounds that are directed toward multiple virulent targets in C. albicans. Such compound(s) provide an optimistic platform of multiple targeting and could leave a substantial impact on the development of effective antifungals.

Identification of trans-2-cis-8-Matricaria-ester from the Essential Oil of Erigeron multiradiatus and Evaluation of Its Antileishmanial Potential by in Vitro and in Silico Approaches

The essential oil (EO) composition of the aerial parts of Erigeron multiradiatus (Lindl.ex DC.) Benth growing wild in the central Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India, was analyzed by capillary gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A sum of 12 constituents was identified, representing 97.81% of the oil composition. The oil was composed mainly of oxygenated monoterpenes (88.95%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (5.61%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (3.05%), and monoterpene hydrocarbons (0.20%). Major constituents identified were trans-2-cis-8-matricaria-ester (77.79%), cis-lachnophyllum ester (11.04%), zingiberene (4.43%), and spathulenol (1.59%). Further, the leishmanicidal effect of EO and the purified compound trans-2-cis-8-matricaria-ester has been investigated against Leishmania donovani promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. EO and trans-2-cis-8-matricaria-ester were safer for the hamster peritoneal macrophage and lethal to promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes at different concentrations. Further, using an in silico approach, these four compounds were tested against 10 major proteins of L. donovani associated with its virulence. Out of them, only trans-2-cis-8-matricaria-ester was found to be effective against the four target proteins, namely, l-asparaginase-1-like protein, metacaspase 2, metacaspase 1, and DNA topoisomerase II of L. donovani. The results indicate that EO contains trans-2-cis-8-matricaria-ester as a major component and showed antileishmanial activity which may facilitate discovery of new lead molecules for developing herbal medicines against visceral leishmaniasis.

Targeting Candida spp. to develop antifungal agents

Invasive fungal infections are a complex challenge throughout the world because of their high incidence, mainly in critically ill patients, and high mortality rates. The antifungal agents currently available are limited; thus, there is a need for the rapid development of new drugs. In silico methods are a modern strategy to explore interactions between new compounds and specific fungal targets, but they depend on precise genetic information. Here, we discuss the main Candida spp. target genes, including information about null mutants, virulence, cytolocalization, co-regulatory genes, and compounds that are related to protein expression. These data will provide a basis for the future in silico development of antifungal drugs.