Cell-penetrating peptides as antifungals towards Malassezia sympodialis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether different antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are able to inhibit the growth of the commensal yeast Malassezia sympodialis, which can act as a trigger factor in different skin disorders, such as atopic eczema (AE), seborrhoeic eczema (SE) and dandruff.


RESULTS
The antifungal activity of 21 different AMPs and CPPs was investigated by microdilution assay and plate counting to determine the number of colony forming units. Five CPPs and one AMP showed fungicidal activity at submicromolar concentrations. Importantly, no membrane damage on human keratinocytes was detected after peptide treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Several CPPs, while being nontoxic to mammalian cells, possess growth inhibitory activity on the very stringent yeast M. sympodialis.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings that five CPPs and one AMP that are harmless towards mammalian cells act as antifungal agents against M. sympodialis opens up the possibility to use these in the treatment for AE, SE and dandruff. To our knowledge, this is the first time peptides have been identified as antifungal agents against M. sympodialis. Further studies to elucidate the mechanism are warranted.
Department of Neurochemistry, Stockholm University, Sweden. tina_holm79@hotmail.com
T
T
Holm
J
J
Bruchmann
A
A
Scheynius
U
U
Langel
D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000382:microbiology*; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008290:Malassezia / Q000187:drug effects*
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides