AUTHOR=Li Zhongjie , Jing Xiaoyuan , Yuan Yaping , Shui Yingbin , Li Shasha , Zhao Zhuoran , Deng Bo , Zhang Wenlu 

TITLE=In vitro and in vivo Activity of Phibilin Against Candida albicans

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.862834

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.862834

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=The increase in the occurrence of antifungal resistant Candida albicans infections necessitates more research to explore alternative effective and safe agents against this fungus. In this work, Phibilin, a new antimicrobial peptide from the traditional Chinese medicine Philomycus bilineatus, effectively inhibits the growth and activities of C. albicans including the clinical resistant strains. As a fungicidal antimicrobial peptide, Phibilin exerted its antimicrobial effect against C. albicans mainly by disrupting the membrane and interacting with the DNA of the fungi. In particular, Phibilin induces necrosis of C. albicans via the ROS-related pathway. Moreover, Phibilin inhibited the biofilm formation of C. albicans by preventing hyphal development in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, Phibilin and Clotrimazole displayed a synergistic effect in inhibiting the growth of the fungi. In the mouse cutaneous infection model, Phibilin significantly inhibited the formation of skin abscesses and decreased the counts of C. albicans cells in the infection area. Overall, Phibilin is potentially an effective agent against skin infections caused by C. albicans.