title: Antifungal activity of statins against Aspergillus species.
abstract: The cholesterol-lowering agents known as statins have in vitro activities against human pathogenic fungi, such as Candida species, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Zygomycetes. Synergy between statins and azoles against these fungi has also been reported. We evaluated the in vitro activities of two statins, lovastatin and simvastatin, alone and in combination with azoles and amphotericin B, against clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp. A disk diffusion assay showed that both statins were active against Aspergillus spp. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranges for lovastatin and simvastatin against Aspergillus spp. were 16 to >256 microg/ml and 4 to >256 microg/ml, respectively. Although both statins were fungicidal for A. fumigatus, the MICs were vastly higher than clinically achievable concentrations. The results of a combined agar dilution-Epsilometer test as well as a disk diffusion assay showed that neither statin had any effect on the in vitro activities of itraconazole, voriconazole, or amphotericin B against Aspergillus spp.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Peking University First Hospital, and Research Center for Medical Mycology, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.forename: Dimitrios P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Kontoyiannis
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Ruoyu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000494:pharmacology; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000382:microbiology; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D001393:Azoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001393:Azoles; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D000666:Amphotericin B; D008148:Lovastatin; D019821:Simvastatin