Frontiers in Pharmacology (Mar 2022)

Antifungal Mechanisms of a Chinese Herbal Medicine, Cao Huang Gui Xiang, Against Candida Species

  • Huizhen Yue,
  • Huizhen Yue,
  • Huizhen Yue,
  • Xiaolong Xu,
  • Xiaolong Xu,
  • Xiaolong Xu,
  • Shasha He,
  • Shasha He,
  • Shasha He,
  • Xuran Cui,
  • Xuran Cui,
  • Xuran Cui,
  • Yuhong Guo,
  • Yuhong Guo,
  • Yuhong Guo,
  • Jingxia Zhao,
  • Jingxia Zhao,
  • Jingxia Zhao,
  • Bing Peng,
  • Bing Peng,
  • Qingquan Liu,
  • Qingquan Liu,
  • Qingquan Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.813818
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Cao Huang Gui Xiang (CHGX) formula, a Chinese herbal medicine, has been empirically used for the treatment of Candida infections. In the present study, we discovered that the CHGX showed potent antifungal activities against the major human fungal pathogen Candida albicans and other clinical Candida species. Besides, we indicated that CHGX had in vivo efficacy on treating C. albicans infection in mice without noticeable toxicity at the clinical therapeutic concentration. We then set out to investigate the antifungal mechanisms of CHGX against C. albicans. We found that CHGX played an important role in inhibiting biofilm formation and filament development, two critical virulence factors of C. albicans. We further demonstrated that CHGX disrupted cell membrane integrity, triggered the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and consumption of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), followed by a rapid fungal cell death in C. albicans. Multiple pathways, including the conserved Ras1-cAMP pathway and mitochondrial protein Mcu1 are involved in CHGX-induced cell death. Our finding expands the understanding of antifungal mechanism of CHGX against C. albicans, and provides new insights in treating patients with Candida infections in clinical practice.

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