title: Relationship between MIC and minimum sterol 14{alpha}-demethylation-inhibitory concentration as a factor in evaluating activities of azoles against various fungal species.
abstract: The minimum growth-inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of azole antifungals were compared to their minimum sterol 14alpha-demethylation-inhibitory concentrations (MDICs) for clinical fungal isolates. The ascomycetous Candida yeasts tested were clearly divided into two groups: group I, consisting of C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. lusitaniae, had MICs that were much higher than the MDICs, whereas group II, comprising C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. guilliermondii, and C. krusei, had MICs that were approximately equal to the MDICs. In the ascomycetous fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Sporothrix schenckii, the MICs were indistinguishable from the MDICs. In the basidiomycetous fungi Cryptococcus (Filobasidiella) neoformans, C. curvatus, and Trichosporon asahii, the MICs and the MDICs were practically identical. These results support the notion that there are two distinct classes of fungi differing in their degree of tolerance to sterol 14alpha-demethylation deficiency. These findings have significant implications for both fungal physiology and antifungal chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Dental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. simo@nichiyaku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Shimokawa
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niimi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Mitsumasa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Hideko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kajiwara
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000187:drug effects; D001393:Azoles / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002175:Candida / Q000187:drug effects; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D003470:Culture Media; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007810:Lanosterol / Q000378:metabolism; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D003904:Mitosporic Fungi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D009181:Mycoses / Q000382:microbiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013261:Sterols / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D001393:Azoles; D003470:Culture Media; D013261:Sterols; D007810:Lanosterol