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Peng W, Fu X, Yu H, Zhang Y, Zhou Q, Cao D. Emergence of Triazole-Resistant Cryptococcus neoformans after Exposure to Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Difenoconazole in Liquid Medium and Soil. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2025; 73:9541-9549. [PMID: 40227020 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c12837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2025]
Abstract
The rapid global emergence and spread of resistance to clinical triazoles in Cryptococcus neoformans have been associated with the use of agricultural triazole fungicides. However, there is no direct evidence currently linking the emergence of triazole-resistant C. neoformans (TRCN) strains to the application of triazole fungicides in soil. This study investigated whether triazole resistance in C. neoformans could be induced by difenoconazole, an agricultural triazole fungicide, in liquid medium and soil. Our findings reveal that environmentally relevant concentrations of difenoconazole can drive cross-resistance to clinical triazoles in C. neoformans through the upregulation of ERG11 and efflux pump genes (AFR1, AFR3, and MDR1). Notably, the prevalence of TRCN strains in soil correlates with residual difenoconazole levels, with significantly more TRCN isolates observed at two- and five-fold the recommended dose than at the standard dose. These results provide direct evidence linking agricultural triazole use to the emergence of TRCN and highlight the importance of applying difenoconazole at or below the recommended dosage to mitigate resistance development in soil environments. This study addresses a critical gap in the understanding of the environmental drivers of triazole resistance and underscores the need for responsible fungicide use to prevent the spread of resistant pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Peng
- The Laboratory for Phytochemistry and Botanical Pesticides, College of Agriculture, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Vegetable Cultivation and Utilization (Jiangxi Agricultural University), Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Xiaoxiang Fu
- The Laboratory for Phytochemistry and Botanical Pesticides, College of Agriculture, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Vegetable Cultivation and Utilization (Jiangxi Agricultural University), Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Hantao Yu
- The Laboratory for Phytochemistry and Botanical Pesticides, College of Agriculture, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Vegetable Cultivation and Utilization (Jiangxi Agricultural University), Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- The Laboratory for Phytochemistry and Botanical Pesticides, College of Agriculture, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Qinghong Zhou
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Vegetable Cultivation and Utilization (Jiangxi Agricultural University), Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Duantao Cao
- The Laboratory for Phytochemistry and Botanical Pesticides, College of Agriculture, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
- Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Vegetable Cultivation and Utilization (Jiangxi Agricultural University), Nanchang 330045, China
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Chen X, Lei W, Meng H, Jiang Y, Zhang S, Chen H, Du M, Xue X. Succinylation modification provides new insights for the treatment of immunocompromised individuals with drug-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus infection. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1161642. [PMID: 37138872 PMCID: PMC10150703 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1161642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Invasive Aspergillus fumigatus infection poses a serious threat to global human health, especially to immunocompromised individuals. Currently, triazole drugs are the most commonly used antifungals for aspergillosis. However, owing to the emergence of drug-resistant strains, the effect of triazole drugs is greatly restricted, resulting in a mortality rate as high as 80%. Succinylation, a novel post-translational modification, is attracting increasing interest, although its biological function in triazole resistance remains unclear. In this study, we initiated the screening of lysine succinylation in A. fumigatus. We discovered that some of the succinylation sites differed significantly among strains with unequal itraconazole (ITR) resistance. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the succinylated proteins are involved in a broad range of cellular functions with diverse subcellular localizations, the most notable of which is cell metabolism. Further antifungal sensitivity tests confirmed the synergistic fungicidal effects of dessuccinylase inhibitor nicotinamide (NAM) on ITR-resistant A. fumigatus. In vivo experiments revealed that treatment with NAM alone or in combination with ITR significantly increased the survival of neutropenic mice infected with A. fumigatus. In vitro experiments showed that NAM enhanced the killing effect of THP-1 macrophages on A. fumigatus conidia. Our results suggest that lysine succinylation plays an indispensable role in ITR resistance of A. fumigatus. Dessuccinylase inhibitor NAM alone or in combination with ITR exerted good effects against A. fumigatus infection in terms of synergistic fungicidal effect and enhancing macrophage killing effect. These results provide mechanistic insights that will aid in the treatment of ITR-resistant fungal infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianzhen Chen
- Institute of Dermatology, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
- Department of Dermatology, Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Wenzhi Lei
- Institute of Dermatology, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Meng
- Department of Pharmacy, 905th Hospital of People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) Navy, Shanghai, China
| | - Yi Jiang
- Department of Pharmacy, 905th Hospital of People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) Navy, Shanghai, China
| | - Sanli Zhang
- Department of Nephrology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Huyan Chen
- Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Huyan Chen, ; Mingwei Du, ; Xiaochun Xue,
| | - Mingwei Du
- Department of Cardiology, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Clinical Medicine, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Huyan Chen, ; Mingwei Du, ; Xiaochun Xue,
| | - Xiaochun Xue
- Department of Pharmacy, 905th Hospital of People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) Navy, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Huyan Chen, ; Mingwei Du, ; Xiaochun Xue,
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Kai-su P, Hong L, Dong-yan Z, Yan-qing Z, Andrianopoulos A, Latgé JP, Cun-wei C. Study on the mechanisms of action of berberine combined with fluconazole against fluconazole-resistant strains of Talaromyces marneffei. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1033211. [PMID: 36452929 PMCID: PMC9704026 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1033211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei (T. marneffei) is a thermally dimorphic fungus that can cause opportunistic systemic mycoses. Our previous study demonstrated that concomitant use of berberine (BBR) and fluconazole (FLC) showed a synergistic action against FLC-resistant T. marneffei (B4) in vitro. In this paper, we tried to figure out the antifungal mechanisms of BBR and FLC in T. marneffei FLC-resistant. In the microdilution test, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of FLC was 256 μg/ml before FLC and BBR combination, and was 8 μg/ml after combination, the partial inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of B4 was 0.28. After the treatments of BBR and FLC, the studies revealed that (i) increase reactive oxygen species (ROS), (ii) reduce ergosterol content, (iii) destroy the integrity of cell wall and membrane, (iv) decrease the expression of genes AtrF, MDR1, PMFCZ, and Cyp51B however ABC1 and MFS change are not obvious. These results confirmed that BBR has antifungal effect on T. marneffei, and the combination with FLC can restore the susceptibility of FLC-resistant strains to FLC, and the reduction of ergosterol content and the down-regulation of gene expression of AtrF, Mdr1, PMFCZ, and Cyp51B are the mechanisms of the antifungal effect after the combination, which provides a theoretical basis for the application of BBR in the treatment of Talaromycosis and opens up new ideas for treatment of Talaromycosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Kai-su
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Mycosis Research and Prevention, Nanning, China
| | - Luo Hong
- Department of Dermatology, Changsha First Hospital, Changsha, China
| | - Zheng Dong-yan
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Mycosis Research and Prevention, Nanning, China
| | - Zheng Yan-qing
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Mycosis Research and Prevention, Nanning, China
- Fourth People’s Hospital of Nanning, Nanning, China
| | - Alex Andrianopoulos
- School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Jean-Paul Latgé
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, FORTH and School of Medicine, University of Crete, Crete, Greece
| | - Cao Cun-wei
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Mycosis Research and Prevention, Nanning, China
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Zhang GT, Wang H, Li HY, Yan B. Crystal structure of bis(5-amino-1,2,4-triazol-4-ium-3-yl)methane sulfate, C 5H 10N 8O 4S. Z KRIST-NEW CRYST ST 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/ncrs-2022-0133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
C5H10N8O4S, Orthorhombic, Pba2 (no. 32), a = 7.7320(11) Å, b = 12.8686(19) Å, c = 5.0657(8) Å, β = 90°, V = 504.04(13) Å3, Z = 2, R
gt
(F) = 0.0298, wR
ref
(F
2) = 0.0748, T = 296(2) K.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guo-Tao Zhang
- School of Civil Engineering , Yulin University , Yulin , Shaanxi, 719000 , P. R. China
| | - Hua Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yulin University , Yulin , Shaanxi, 719000 , P. R. China
| | - Hong-Ya Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yulin University , Yulin , Shaanxi, 719000 , P. R. China
| | - Biao Yan
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yulin University , Yulin , Shaanxi, 719000 , P. R. China
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