In Vitro Interactions of Calcineurin Inhibitors with Conventional Antifungal Agents Against the Yeast Form of Penicillium marneffei

Penicillium marneffei can cause a life-threatening disseminated mycosis in immunocompromised hosts. However, therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this infectious disease are limited. Reports of other fungi suggest that calcineurin inhibitors interact with antifungal agents to improve the trea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mycopathologia (1975) 2014-10, Vol.178 (3-4), p.217-220
Main Authors: Mo, Dongdong, Li, Xin, Wei, Lili, Sun, Chenghang, Liang, Hao, Cao, Cunwei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antifungal agents
Antifungal Agents - pharmacology
Antifungal Agents - therapeutic use
Antiparasitic agents
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Calcineurin Inhibitors - pharmacology
Calcineurin Inhibitors - therapeutic use
Cyclosporine
Cyclosporine - pharmacology
Cyclosporine - therapeutic use
Dermatology
Drug interactions
Drug Synergism
Eukaryotic Microbiology
Fluconazole - pharmacology
Fluconazole - therapeutic use
Infections
Itraconazole - pharmacology
Itraconazole - therapeutic use
Life Sciences
Medical Microbiology
Microbial Ecology
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Microbiology
Mycoses
Penicillium - drug effects
Penicillium marneffei
Plant Sciences
Tacrolimus
Tacrolimus - pharmacology
Tacrolimus - therapeutic use
Yeast
Yeasts - drug effects
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Summary:Penicillium marneffei can cause a life-threatening disseminated mycosis in immunocompromised hosts. However, therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this infectious disease are limited. Reports of other fungi suggest that calcineurin inhibitors interact with antifungal agents to improve the treatment outcomes. Here, we evaluated the in vitro interaction of the calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine A and tacrolimus (FK506) combined with conventional antifungal agents against the pathogenic yeast form of P . marneffei . We demonstrate that the combination of cyclosporine A with amphotericin B, itraconazole, or fluconazole was synergistic for 85, 65, and 30 % of P . marneffei strains, respectively. In contrast, no synergism was observed in all the combinations containing tacrolimus. Furthermore, antagonism was not observed for any combination. In conclusion, the therapeutic potential of a combinatory approach using the calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporine A with conventional antifungal drugs may lead to improved treatment regimens for P . marneffei infections. We propose that mechanism of action studies with cyclosporine A and antifungal agents is needed.
ISSN:0301-486X
1573-0832
DOI:10.1007/s11046-014-9787-8