Aspergillus fumigatus

• Fungi are present on the skin of around 70% of the population, without causing harm or benefit.
• Others, like Candida albicans, can be deadly – especially for individuals with weakened immune systems.
• Fungal infections are on the rise because of an aging population and an increased prevalence of chronic diseases.

Molecular machines as alternative antifungals

• Molecular machines are synthetic compounds that rapidly rotate their components at about 3 million times per second when exposed to light.
• Doctors can use a light-tipped probe to activate these molecular machines to treat internal infections, or a lamp for skin infections.
• These properties make molecular machines an enticing candidate technology to address the growing fungal threat.

Testing antifungal molecular machines

• Compared with conventional drugs, molecular machines killed C. albicans much faster.
• Unlike conventional antifungals, which target the fungal cell membrane or cell wall, molecular machines localize to the fungal mitochondria.
• At the same time, molecular machines also disrupt the tiny pumps that remove antifungal agents from the cell, thus preventing the cell from fighting back.
• In lab experiments, combining light-activated molecular machines with conventional antifungal drugs also reduced the amount of fungi in C. albicans-infected worms and in pig nails infected with Trichophyton rubrum, the most common cause of athlete’s foot.

New frontiers for fighting fungal infections

• These results suggest that combining molecular machines with conventional antifungals can improve existing therapies and provide new options for treating resistant fungal strains.
• This strategy could also help reduce the side effects of traditional antifungals, such as gastrointestinal upset and skin reactions.
• Fungal infection rates will likely continue to rise.
• However, continuing research gives hope that these machines could one day provide better treatments for fungal infections and other infectious diseases.

• Los Angeles, California, Dec. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 19th Annual Lundquist Legends tradition continues in 2022 with the recognition of two of its most outstanding investigators: Dr. Scott Filler and Dr. Darrell Harrington.
• This year’s event will take place at the Institute’s Medical Research Laboratory on the Institute campus on December 7th.
• Fungal invasions and their host receptors—the first two of which have been identified by Dr. Filler’s lab—are key to the eventual development of fungal vaccines.
• “Both of these trailblazers have been leaders in the field of medicine and research, and we honor their legacies of innovation and enduring commitment to science.”

• A Host Defense Peptide Mimetic, Brilacidin, Potentiates Caspofungin Antifungal Activity Against Human Pathogenic Fungi.
• Following an in vitro drug screening of 1,402 compounds, Brilacidin showed promising antifungal activity and was subsequently selected for additional pre-clinical evaluation, including in combination with caspofungin (CAS), voriconazole (VOR), and posaconazole (POSA), all current antifungal treatments.
• Further in vitro testing showed Brilacidin synergized with CAS in C. albicans, C. auris and C. neoformans.
• Pivotal clinical trials for antifungal drugs are generally smaller than those in other infectious disease areas, requiring between 300 and 600 patients.