ABSTRACT
The lysosomotropic action of the compounds DM-11 and DMAL-12s against Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Candida albicans is species- and pH-dependent. At pH 6.0, DMAL-12s is less effective against S. cerevisiae and S. pombe but more effective against C. albicans than DM-11. At pH 8.0, DMAL-12s strongly inhibits the growth of S. cerevisiae but has only a marginal effect on the resistant C. albicans. S. pombe did not grow at pH 8.0. As shown by quinacrine accumulation, DM-11 causes a general intracellular acidification in all three species, while with DMAL-12s, the acidification is marginal. Morphological changes caused by DMAL-12s in S. cerevisiae affect the cell interior but not surface structures, while S. pombe cells exhibit a thickened and wrinkled cell wall, shrunken protoplast and "grainy" plasma membrane. A large number of blisters resembling lipid droplets were observed inside S. cerevisiae and S. pombe vacuoles. The high susceptibility of S. pombe cells to the action of DM-11 and DMAL-12s contrasts with the low sensitivity of S. pombe H+-ATPase to the agents. In our C. albicans isolate, DMAL 12s did not have an effect on cell morphology and appeared to be unable to penetrate the cells, especially at pH 8.0.
Subject(s)
Alanine/analogs & derivatives , Alanine/pharmacology , Antifungal Agents/pharmacology , Yeasts/drug effects , beta-Alanine/analogs & derivatives , beta-Alanine/pharmacology , Candida albicans/drug effects , Drug Resistance, Fungal , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Inhibitory Concentration 50 , Lysosomes/drug effects , Proton-Translocating ATPases/antagonists & inhibitors , Yeasts/enzymology , Yeasts/ultrastructureABSTRACT
Quinacrine was used to visualize the intracellular pH changes in the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae RXII occurring after exposure to four recently-synthesized lysosomotropic drugs: DM-11, PY-11, PYG-12s and DMAL-12s. The cells took up quinacrine, mostly accumulating it in their vacuoles. DM-11 and PY-11 gave rise to diffuse quinacrine fluorescence throughout the cells, with the vacuoles staining to a somewhat greater extent than the cytosol. This quinacrine-detected overall acidification of the cell interior is very probably caused by blocking of plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase. PYG-12s gave rise to a strong vacuolar accumulation of the dye. Like the vacuolar ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A(1), DMAL-12s strongly lowered the intensity of quinacrine fluorescence. Owing to its low pK(a), it can penetrate rapidly into the cells and may inhibit vacuolar H(+)-ATPase and prevent quinacrine-detectable vacuolar acidification without causing strong cell acidification. Since these drugs were found to penetrate into the cells, their lack of effect may reflect a higher resistance of both plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase and vacuolar ATPase to the drugs. Our data indicate that the lysosomotropic drugs under study have a dual action. On entering the cell, they cause intracellular acidification, very probably by inhibiting plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase and curtailing active proton pumping from the cells. Furthermore, they interfere with the function of V-type ATPase, causing vacuolar alkalinization and eventually cell death.
