Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity

The number of fungal infections is steadily increasing, with considerable morbidity and mortality. Additionally, antifungal resistance is a growing concern, highlighting the need to develop new treatment options. One alternative is the use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The aim of this study was...

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Authors: Rodríguez, Melissa, Toro, Lily J., Firacative, Carolina, Gómez, Beatriz, Rivas-Santiago, Bruno, Andreu Martínez, David, Castaño, Jhon C., Téllez, German A., Muñoz, Julián E.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10230/71196
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71196
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jof11070519
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Antifungal therapy
Antimicrobial resistance
Candida
Cryptococcus
Dung beetle
Antimicrobial peptides
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spelling Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activityRodríguez, MelissaToro, Lily J.Firacative, CarolinaGómez, BeatrizRivas-Santiago, BrunoAndreu Martínez, DavidCastaño, Jhon C.Téllez, German A.Muñoz, Julián E.Antifungal therapyAntimicrobial resistanceCandidaCryptococcusDung beetleAntimicrobial peptidesThe number of fungal infections is steadily increasing, with considerable morbidity and mortality. Additionally, antifungal resistance is a growing concern, highlighting the need to develop new treatment options. One alternative is the use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of designed short AMPs, Act-6 and Act 8-20, derived from cecropin transcripts of beetles from the family Scarabaeidae, against eight reference strains of the pathogenic yeasts Candida and Cryptococcus. We also evaluated the effect of these modified AMPs on the biofilm, morphogenesis, and cell morphology of Candida albicans, as well as the in vivo activity via a murine model of disseminated candidiasis. The AMPs herein analyzed exhibit differential antifungal activity against the yeasts assessed, and inhibit biofilm, hyphae, and pseudohyphae formation with morphological alterations in C. albicans. Moreover, the fungal load in mice treated with these AMPs significantly decreased. Altogether, our results suggest that Act-6 and Act 8-20 are promising antifungal molecules to control mycoses.MDPI202520252025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10230/71196http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jof11070519http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71196reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunyainstname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)InglésJournal of Fungi. 2025;11(7):519© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:recercat.cat:10230/711962026-05-29T05:05:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
title Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
spellingShingle Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
Rodríguez, Melissa
Antifungal therapy
Antimicrobial resistance
Candida
Cryptococcus
Dung beetle
Antimicrobial peptides
title_short Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
title_full Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
title_fullStr Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
title_full_unstemmed Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
title_sort Antimicrobial peptides Act-6 and Act 8-20 derived from Scarabaeidae cecropins exhibit differential antifungal activity
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Rodríguez, Melissa
Toro, Lily J.
Firacative, Carolina
Gómez, Beatriz
Rivas-Santiago, Bruno
Andreu Martínez, David
Castaño, Jhon C.
Téllez, German A.
Muñoz, Julián E.
author Rodríguez, Melissa
author_facet Rodríguez, Melissa
Toro, Lily J.
Firacative, Carolina
Gómez, Beatriz
Rivas-Santiago, Bruno
Andreu Martínez, David
Castaño, Jhon C.
Téllez, German A.
Muñoz, Julián E.
author_role author
author2 Toro, Lily J.
Firacative, Carolina
Gómez, Beatriz
Rivas-Santiago, Bruno
Andreu Martínez, David
Castaño, Jhon C.
Téllez, German A.
Muñoz, Julián E.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Antifungal therapy
Antimicrobial resistance
Candida
Cryptococcus
Dung beetle
Antimicrobial peptides
topic Antifungal therapy
Antimicrobial resistance
Candida
Cryptococcus
Dung beetle
Antimicrobial peptides
description The number of fungal infections is steadily increasing, with considerable morbidity and mortality. Additionally, antifungal resistance is a growing concern, highlighting the need to develop new treatment options. One alternative is the use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of designed short AMPs, Act-6 and Act 8-20, derived from cecropin transcripts of beetles from the family Scarabaeidae, against eight reference strains of the pathogenic yeasts Candida and Cryptococcus. We also evaluated the effect of these modified AMPs on the biofilm, morphogenesis, and cell morphology of Candida albicans, as well as the in vivo activity via a murine model of disseminated candidiasis. The AMPs herein analyzed exhibit differential antifungal activity against the yeasts assessed, and inhibit biofilm, hyphae, and pseudohyphae formation with morphological alterations in C. albicans. Moreover, the fungal load in mice treated with these AMPs significantly decreased. Altogether, our results suggest that Act-6 and Act 8-20 are promising antifungal molecules to control mycoses.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71196
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jof11070519
http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71196
url http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71196
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jof11070519
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Journal of Fungi. 2025;11(7):519
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
instname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
instname_str Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
reponame_str Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
collection Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15.811543

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