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Alternative approaches to antifungal therapies
Author(s) -
Mehra Tarun,
Köberle Martin,
Braunsdorf Christina,
MailänderSanchez Daniela,
Borelli Claudia,
Schaller Martin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.108
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0625
pISSN - 0906-6705
DOI - 10.1111/exd.12004
Subject(s) - virulence , antifungal , biology , antimicrobial peptides , microbiology and biotechnology , population , antimicrobial , immunology , medicine , biochemistry , environmental health , gene
The expansive use of immunosuppressive medications in fields such as transplantational medicine and oncology, the higher frequency of invasive procedures in an ageing population and the HIV / AIDS pandemic have increased the frequency of systemic fungal infections. At the same time, increased resistance of pathogenic fungi to classical antifungal agents has led to sustained research efforts targeting alternative antifungal strategies. In this review, we focus on two promising approaches: cationic peptides and the targeting of fungal virulence factors. Cationic peptides are small, predominantly positively charged protein fragments that exert direct and indirect antifungal activities, one mechanism of action being the permeabilization of the fungal membrane. They include lysozyme, defensins and cathelicidins as well as novel synthetic peptides. Among fungal virulence factors, the targeting of candidal secreted aspartic proteinases seems to be a particularly promising approach.