ABSTRACT
The effects of the protease inhibitors saquinavir, darunavir, ritonavir, and indinavir on growth inhibition, protease and phospholipase activities, as well as capsule thickness of Cryptococcus neoformans were investigated. Viral protease inhibitors did not reduce fungal growth when tested in concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 1.000 mg/L. A tendency toward increasing phospholipase activity was observed with the highest tested drug concentration in a strain-specific pattern. However, these drugs reduced protease activity as well as capsule production. Our results confirm a previous finding that antiretroviral drugs affect the production of important virulence factors of C. neoformans.
Subject(s)
Anti-Retroviral Agents/pharmacology , Cryptococcus neoformans/drug effects , Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal/drug effects , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Cryptococcus neoformans/enzymology , Cryptococcus neoformans/pathogenicity , Indinavir/pharmacology , Ritonavir/pharmacology , Saquinavir/pharmacology , Virulence Factors/geneticsABSTRACT
This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro combination of farnesol and ß-lactams against Burkholderia pseudomallei. A total of 12 ß-lactamase-positive strains were tested according to CLSI standards. All strains were inhibited by farnesol, with MICs ranging from 75 to 150 µM. The combination of this compound with ß-lactams resulted in statistically significant ß-lactam MIC reduction (P ≤ 0.05). This study provides new perspectives for the use of farnesol combined with ß-lactam antibiotics against strains of B. pseudomallei.
