The Potential of Dutasteride for Treating Multidrug-Resistant <i>Candida auris</i> Infection

oleh: J. Francis Borgio, Noor B. Almandil, Prathas Selvaraj, J. Sherlin John, Rahaf Alquwaie, Eman AlHasani, Norah F. Alhur, Razan Aldahhan, Reem AlJindan, Dana Almohazey, Sarah Almofty, T. Stalin Dhas, Sayed AbdulAzeez

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-06-01

Deskripsi

Novel antifungal drugs are urgently needed to treat candidiasis caused by the emerging fungal multidrug-resistant pathogen <i>Candida auris</i>. In this study, the most cost-effective drug repurposing technology was adopted to identify an appropriate option among the 1615 clinically approved drugs with anti-<i>C. auris</i> activity. High-throughput virtual screening of 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase inhibitors was conducted, followed by an analysis of the stability of 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase drug complexes and 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase–dutasteride metabolite interactions and the confirmation of their activity in biofilm formation and planktonic growth. The analysis identified dutasteride, a drug with no prior antifungal indications, as a potential medication for anti-<i>auris</i> activity in seven clinical <i>C. auris</i> isolates from Saudi Arabian patients. Dutasteride was effective at inhibiting biofilm formation by <i>C. auris</i> while also causing a significant reduction in planktonic growth. Dutasteride treatment resulted in disruption of the cell membrane, the lysis of cells, and crushed surfaces on <i>C. auris</i>, and significant (<i>p</i>-value = 0.0057) shrinkage in the length of <i>C. auris</i> was noted at 100,000×. In conclusion, the use of repurposed dutasteride with anti-<i>C</i>. <i>auris</i> potential can enable rapid recovery in patients with difficult-to-treat candidiasis caused by <i>C. auris</i> and reduce the transmission of nosocomial infection.