title: Effects of caspofungin against Candida guilliermondii and Candida parapsilosis.
abstract: The in vitro activity of caspofungin (CAS) was investigated against 28 yeast isolates belonging to Candida albicans (n = 5), Candida guilliermondii (n = 10), and Candida parapsilosis (n = 13). CAS MICs obtained by broth dilution and Etest methods clearly showed a rank order of susceptibility to the echinocandin compound with C. albicans > C. parapsilosis > C. guilliermondii. Similarly, time-kill assays performed on selected isolates showed that CAS was fungistatic against C. albicans and C. parapsilosis, while it did not exert any activity against C. guilliermondii. In a murine model of systemic candidiasis, CAS given at doses as low as 1 mg/kg of body weight/day was effective at reducing the kidney burden of mice infected with either C. albicans or C. guilliermondii isolates. Depending on the isolate tested, mice infected with C. parapsilosis responded to CAS given at 1 and/or 5 mg/kg/day. However, the overall CFU reduction for C. guilliermondii and C. parapsilosis was approximately 100-fold less than that for C. albicans. Our study shows that CAS was active in experimental systemic candidiasis due to C. guilliermondii and C. parapsilosis, but this activity required relatively high drug dosages.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Malattie Infettive e Medicina Pubblica, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Azienda, Ospedaliero-Universitaria, 60020 Torrette, Ancona, Italy. l.infettive@ao-umbertoprimo.marche.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barchiesi
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spreghini
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomassetti
authors.forename: Agnese
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Della Vittoria
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arzeni
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Manso
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scalise
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D000077336:Caspofungin; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D054714:Echinocandins; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D055666:Lipopeptides; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D054714:Echinocandins; D055666:Lipopeptides; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D000077336:Caspofungin