title: Novel mechanisms of surfactants against Candida albicans growth and morphogenesis.
abstract: Candida albicans is a common opportunistic fungal pathogen, causing not only superficial mucosal infections but also life-threatening systemic candidiasis in immune-compromised individuals. Surfactants are a kind of amphiphilic compounds implemented in a wide range of applications. Although their antimicrobial activity has been characterized, their effect on C. albicans physiology remains to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of two representative surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), on C. albicans growth and morphogenesis. Both surfactants exhibited inhibitory effect on C. albicans growth. This effect was not attributed to plasma membrane (PM) damage, but was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Excitingly, the surfactants, especially CTAB, showed strong inhibitory effect on hyphal development (IC50=0.183 ppm for CTAB and 6.312 ppm for SDS) and biofilms (0.888 ppm for CTAB and 76.092 ppm for SDS). Actin staining and Hwp1-GFP localization further revealed that this inhibition is related to abnormal organization of actin skeleton and subsequent defect in polarized transport of hyphae-related factors. This study sheds a novel light on the antimicrobial mechanisms of surfactants, and suggests these agents as potential drugs against C. albicans hyphae-related infections in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
authors.forename: Qilin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
authors.forename: Feiyang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
authors.forename: Chenpeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Traditional Chinese Medicine University, Tianjin 300193, PR China.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
authors.forename: Laijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China. Electronic address: nklimingchun@163.com.
authors.forename: Mingchun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000187:drug effects; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000077286:Cetrimonium; D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate / Q000494:pharmacology; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002593:Cetrimonium Compounds; D005656:Fungal Proteins; C118102:HWP1 protein, Candida albicans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; D000077286:Cetrimonium
keywords: Candida albicans; Morphogenesis; Polarized growth; Surfactant