title: Evaluation of amphotericin B and micafungin combination against clinical isolates of Aspergillus species.
abstract: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a combination of amphotericin B (AMB) and micafungin (MCFG) against 25 clinical isolates of Aspergillus species in vitro. We examined fungal growth in the presence of these drugs using a checkerboard method with the tetrazolium salt: 2,3-bis (2- methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulphophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxyanilide inner salt (XTT) to determine the efficacy of an AMB/MCFG combination in inhibition of filamentous fungal growth, evaluated based on 50% reduction of metabolic activity. The fractional inhibitory concentration index showed that the drugs synergistically inhibited 36% of the isolates. Activity was judged as indifferent for 64% isolates; antagonistic interaction was not detected. The AMB/MCFG combination was more effective than AMB alone when sub-inhibitory concentrations of AMB were used. This report demonstrates the efficacy of AMB/MCFG combination for inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus species in vitro, warranting the extension of such studies to animal models.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Clinical Investigation, Osaka University Hospital, 2-15 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. nishi@hp-lab.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nishi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sunada
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toyokawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asari
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwatani
mesh_terms: D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D054714:Echinocandins / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D055666:Lipopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077551:Micafungin; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D054714:Echinocandins; D055666:Lipopeptides; D000666:Amphotericin B; D000077551:Micafungin