Antifungal activity of Rhopalurus crassicauda venom against Candida spp.
Umberto Zottich,
Isadora Sousa de Oliveira,
Isabela Gobbo Fereira,
Felipe Augusto Cerni,
Bordon Karla de Castro Figueiredo,
Eliane Candiani Arantes,
Valdirene Moreira Gomes,
Germana Bueno Dias,
Manuela Berto Pucca
Affiliations
Umberto Zottich
Medical School, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil; Corresponding author.
Isadora Sousa de Oliveira
Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Isabela Gobbo Fereira
Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Felipe Augusto Cerni
Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Brazil
Bordon Karla de Castro Figueiredo
Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Eliane Candiani Arantes
Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Valdirene Moreira Gomes
Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual Do Norte Fluminense, 28013-602, Campos Dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Germana Bueno Dias
Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Brazil
Manuela Berto Pucca
Medical School, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil; Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Brazil; Corresponding author. Medical School, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil.
Fungal infections are becoming a serious problem of human diseases, being one of the most important fungal pathogens the yeast of the genus Candida. So far, fungal infection treatment faces different challenges, including the limited number of therapeutic drugs. Scorpions are known to be a valuable source of biologically active molecules, especially of peptide-derived molecules with a variety of biological effects and useful, lead compounds for drugs development. Here, we pioneer described the antifungal effect of venom, mucus, and the major toxin (Rc1) from Rhopalurus crassicauda scorpion. These results support the potential for Rc1 to be further investigated as a novel antifungal therapeutic to treat Candida infections.
