Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38341568›Full record

ArticleBMC microbiology2024

The anti-staphylococcal fusidic acid as an efflux pump inhibitor combined with fluconazole against vaginal candidiasis in mouse model.

Salwa E Gomaa, Hisham A Abbas, Fatma A Mohamed, Mohamed A M Ali, Tarek M Ibrahim, Alyaa S Abdel Halim, Mashael A Alghamdi, Basem Mansour, Anis Ahmad Chaudhary, Amr Elkelish and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC microbiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Mechanisms of fusidic acid resistance.Biochemical Society transactions · 2025
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Antifungal Synergy: Mechanistic Insights into the R-1-R Peptide andInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.

Salwa E GomaaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Hisham A AbbasDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Fatma A MohamedDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Mohamed A M AliDepartment of Biology, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
Tarek M IbrahimDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Alyaa S Abdel HalimDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, 11566, Egypt.
Mashael A AlghamdiDepartment of Chemistry, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
Basem MansourDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta University for Science and Technology, Gamasa, Belqas, 11152, Egypt.
Anis Ahmad ChaudharyDepartment of Biology, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
Amr ElkelishDepartment of Biology, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
Fehmi BoufahjaDepartment of Biology, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
Wael A H HegazyDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt. waelmhegazy@daad-alumni.de.
Fatma Al-Zahraa A YehiaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.
Zagazig University · EGImam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University · SAAin Shams University · EGDelta University for Science and Technology · EG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCandida albicans is the most common fungus that causes vaginal candidiasis in immunocompetent women and catastrophic infections in immunocompromised patients. The treatment of such infections is hindered due to the increasing emergence of resistance to azoles in C. albicans. New treatment approaches are needed to combat candidiasis especially in the dwindled supply of new effective and safe antifungals. The resistance to azoles is mainly attributed to export of azoles outside the cells by means of the efflux pump that confers cross resistance to all azoles including fluconazole (FLC).

objectivesThis study aimed to investigate the possible efflux pump inhibiting activity of fusidic acid (FA) in C. albicans resistant isolates and the potential use of Fusidic acid in combination with fluconazole to potentiate the antifungal activity of fluconazole to restore its activity in the resistant C. albicans isolates.

methodsThe resistance of C. albicans isolates was assessed by determination of minimum inhibitory concentration. The effect of Fusidic acid at sub-inhibitory concentration on efflux activity was assayed by rhodamine 6G efflux assay and intracellular accumulation. Mice model studies were conducted to evaluate the anti-efflux activity of Fusidic acid and its synergistic effects in combination with fluconazole. Impact of Fusidic acid on ergosterol biosynthesis was quantified. The synergy of fluconazole when combined with Fusidic acid was investigated by determination of minimum inhibitory concentration. The cytotoxicity of Fusidic acid was tested against erythrocytes. The effect of Fusidic acid on efflux pumps was tested at the molecular level by real-time PCR and in silico study. In vivo vulvovaginitis mice model was used to confirm the activity of the combination in treating vulvovaginal candidiasis.

resultsFusidic acid showed efflux inhibiting activity as it increased the accumulation of rhodamine 6G, a substrate for ABC-efflux transporter, and decreased its efflux in C. albicans cells. The antifungal activity of fluconazole was synergized when combined with Fusidic acid. Fusidic acid exerted only minimal cytotoxicity on human erythrocytes indicating its safety. The FA efflux inhibitory activity could be owed to its ability to interfere with efflux protein transporters as revealed by docking studies and downregulation of the efflux-encoding genes of both ABC transporters and MFS superfamily. Moreover, in vivo mice model showed that using fluconazole-fusidic acid combination by vaginal route enhanced fluconazole antifungal activity as shown by lowered fungal burden and a negligible histopathological change in vaginal tissue.

conclusionThe current findings highlight FA's potential as a potential adjuvant to FLC in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Indexed as

CandidiasisCandidiasis, VulvovaginalAnimalsAntifungal AgentsATP-Binding Cassette TransportersAzolesCandida albicansDrug Resistance, FungalFemaleFluconazoleFungal ProteinsFusidic AcidHumansMiceMicrobial Sensitivity TestsAntifungal AgentsATP-Binding Cassette TransportersAzolesFluconazoleFungal ProteinsFusidic AcidDrug repurposingEfflux pumpsFluconazole resistant Candida albicansFusidic acidVaginal candidiasis

Identifiers

PMID38341568
PMCPMC10858509
OpenAlexW4391717818

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.