1. Statin Concentrations Below the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Attenuate the Virulence of Rhizopus oryzae.
- Author
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Bellanger AP, Tatara AM, Shirazi F, Gebremariam T, Albert ND, Lewis RE, Ibrahim AS, and Kontoyiannis DP
- Subjects
- Animals, Atorvastatin pharmacology, Atorvastatin therapeutic use, Diptera drug effects, Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP, Female, Humans, Lovastatin pharmacology, Lovastatin therapeutic use, Mice, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Simvastatin pharmacology, Simvastatin therapeutic use, Spores, Fungal drug effects, Texas, Antifungal Agents pharmacology, Antifungal Agents therapeutic use, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors therapeutic use, Mucormycosis drug therapy, Rhizopus drug effects, Virulence drug effects
- Abstract
Background: Mucormycosis is a destructive invasive mold infection afflicting patients with diabetes and hematologic malignancies. Patients with diabetes are often treated with statins, which have been shown to have antifungal properties. We sought to examine the effects of statins on Rhizopus oryzae, a common cause of mucormycosis., Methods: Clinical strains of R. oryzae were exposed to lovastatin, atorvastatin, and simvastatin and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined. R. oryzae germination, DNA fragmentation, susceptibility to oxidative stress, and ability to damage endothelial cells were assessed. We further investigated the impact of exposure to lovastatin on the virulence of R. oryzae, Results: All statins had MICs of >64 µg/mL against R. oryzae Exposure of R. oryzae to statins decreased germling formation, induced DNA fragmentation, and attenuated damage to endothelial cells independently of the expression of GRP78 and CotH. Additionally, R. oryzae exposed to lovastatin showed macroscopic loss of melanin, yielded increased susceptibility to the oxidative agent peroxide, and had attenuated virulence in both fly and mouse models of mucormycosis., Conclusions: Exposure of R. oryzae to statins at concentrations below their MICs decreased virulence both in vitro and in vivo. Further investigation is warranted into the use of statins as adjunctive therapy in mucormycosis., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2016
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