Emerging Fungal Infections

Resource type
Journal Article
Authors/contributors
Title
Emerging Fungal Infections
Abstract
The quest for new antifungal and antitubercular drugs is a need of the hour because of morbid co-pathogenesis and an increase in immunocompromised patients. One of the ways forward is to explore and repurpose the established pharmacophores for the desired application. Oxazolidinones are well-known antibacterial agents, with few investigations reported to exploit their antifungal properties. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a series of linezolid-based oxazolidinones as potent anticandidiasis and antitubercular agents. Studies revealed that two of the novel oxazolidinones 2 and 3a exhibited excellent anticandidiasis activity against different Candida fungus strains, superior to standard drugs. Mechanistic and docking studies revealed that oxazolidinones were better inhibitors of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway than the controls used. In addition, the oxazolidinones 2 and 3a also exhibited prominent inhibitory activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv with MIC values of 1 and 2 μg/ml, respectively. Computational studies demonstrated the binding of the compounds to the transcriptional regulatory repressor protein, which was reinforced by the molecular dynamics simulations. The pharmacophore modeling experiments validated the molecular docking results in both the target proteins. Histoplasma, a genus of dimorphic fungi, is the etiological agent of histoplasmosis, a pulmonary disease widespread across the globe. Whole genome sequencing has revealed that the genus harbors a previously unrecognized diversity of cryptic species. To date, studies have focused on Histoplasma isolates collected in the Americas with little knowledge of the genomic variation from other localities. In this report, we report the existence of a well-differentiated lineage of Histoplasma occurring in the Indian subcontinent. The group is differentiated enough to satisfy the requirements of a phylogenetic species, as it shows extensive genetic differentiation along the whole genome and has little evidence of gene exchange with other Histoplasma species. Next, we leverage this genetic differentiation to identify genetic changes that are unique to this group and that have putatively evolved through rapid positive selection. We found that none of the previously known virulence factors have evolved rapidly in the Indian lineage but find evidence of strong signatures of selection on other alleles potentially involved in clinically-important phenotypes. Our work serves as an example of the importance of correctly identifying species boundaries to understand the extent of selection in the evolution of pathogenic lineages. Whole genome sequencing has revolutionized our understanding of microbial diversity, including human pathogens. In the case of fungal pathogens, a limiting factor in understanding the extent of their genetic diversity has been the lack of systematic sampling. In this piece, we show the results of a collection in the Indian subcontinent of the pathogenic fungus Histoplasma, the causal agent of a systemic mycosis. We find that Indian samples of Histoplasma form a distinct clade which is highly differentiated from other Histoplasma species. We also show that the genome of this lineage shows unique signals of natural selection. This work exemplifies how the combination of a robust sampling along with population genetics, and phylogenetics can reveal the precise genetic changes that differentiate lineages of fungal pathogens.
Publication
Infectious Disease Clinics of North America
Date
2021-06-01
Volume
35
Issue
2
Pages
261-277
Series
Fungal Infections
Journal Abbr
Infectious Disease Clinics of North America
Accessed
6/6/22, 4:02 PM
ISSN
0891-5520
Language
en
Library Catalog
ScienceDirect
Citation
Spallone, A., & Schwartz, I. S. (2021). Emerging Fungal Infections. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, 35(2), 261–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2021.03.014