title: Antiepileptic Drugs Inhibit Growth, Dimorphism, and Biofilm Mode of Growth in Human Pathogen Candida albicans.
abstract: Exploring the potential of existing drugs for their unknown properties may offer advantages over conventional drug development by saving time and money. Candida albicans, an important human opportunist, shares many genetic properties with humans. This has encouraged us to study drugs that are not originally antifungals against C. albicans. In the present study, we have tested six antiepileptic drugs for their activities against C. albicans. Their effects on growth, time-dependent killing, yeast-to-hyphal form switching, and biofilms formation by C. albicans were studied. Out of the drugs studied, four drugs, which are γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor agonists in humans, inhibited growth, yeast-to-hyphal form switching, and biofilm formation in C. albicans. Lorazepam inhibited growth of C. albicans at 25 μg/ml, followed by midazolam and diazepam (minimum inhibitory concentrations 100 and 400 μg/ml, respectively). Members from other group voltage-gated sodium channel blockers failed to inhibit C. albicans. Our study has identified GABA receptor agonists used in epileptic therapy as potential candidates for antifungal drug development against the human pathogen C. albicans.
authors.affiliation: DST-FIST- and UGC-SAP-Sponsored School of Life Sciences, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University , Nanded, Maharashtra, India .
authors.forename: Gunderao H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Kathwate
authors.affiliation: DST-FIST- and UGC-SAP-Sponsored School of Life Sciences, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University , Nanded, Maharashtra, India .
authors.forename: Ravikumar B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Shinde
authors.affiliation: DST-FIST- and UGC-SAP-Sponsored School of Life Sciences, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University , Nanded, Maharashtra, India .
authors.forename: S Mohan
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Karuppayil
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology; D018755:GABA Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D025301:Hyphae / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D061567:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D018755:GABA Agonists; D061567:Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers