T-2307 causes collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential in yeast

T-2307, an arylamidine compound, has been previously reported to have broad-spectrum in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities against clinically significant pathogens, including Candida species, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus species, and is now undergoing clinical trials. Here we investigated the mechanism of action of T-2307 using yeast cells and mitochondria isolated from yeast and rat liver. Nonfermentative growth of Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in glycerol medium, in which yeasts relied on mitochondrial respiratory function, was inhibited at 0.001 to 0.002 μg/ml (0.002 to 0.004 μM) of T-2307. However, fermentative growth in dextrose medium was not inhibited by T-2307. Microscopic examination using Mitotracker fluorescent dye, a cell-permeant mitochondrion-specific probe, demonstrated that T-2307 impaired the mitochondrial function of C. albicans and S. cerevisiae at concentrations near the MIC in glycerol medium. T-2307 collapsed the mitochondrial membrane potential in mitochondria isolated from S. cerevisiae at 20 μM. On the other hand, in isolated rat liver mitochondria, T-2307 did not have any effect on the mitochondrial membrane potential at 10 mM. Moreover, T-2307 had little inhibitory and stimulatory effect on mitochondrial respiration in rat liver mitochondria. In conclusion, T-2307 selectively disrupted yeast mitochondrial function, and it was also demonstrated that the fungal mitochondrion is an attractive antifungal target.