Fluconazole treatment hyperpolarizes the plasma membrane of Candida cells

Five pathogenic Candida species were compared in terms of their osmotolerance, tolerance to toxic sodium and lithium cations, and resistance to fluconazole. The species not only differed, in general, in their tolerance to high osmotic pressure (C. albicans and C. parapsilosis being the most osmotolerant) but exhibited distinct sensitivities to toxic sodium and lithium cations, with C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis being very tolerant but C. krusei and C. dubliniensis sensitive to LiCl. The treatment of both fluconazole-susceptible (C. albicans and C. parapsilosis) and fluconazole-resistant (C. dubliniensis, C. krusei and C. tropicalis) growing cells with subinhibitory concentrations of fluconazole resulted in substantially elevated intracellular Na(+) levels. Using a diS-C3(3) assay, for the first time, to monitor the relative membrane potential (ΔΨ) of Candida cells, we show that the fluconazole treatment of growing cells of all five species results in a substantial hyperpolarization of their plasma membranes, which is responsible for an increased non-specific transport of toxic alkali metal cations and other cationic drugs (e.g., hygromycin B). Thus, the combination of relatively low doses of fluconazole and drugs, whose import into the tested Candida strains is driven by the cell membrane potential, might be especially potent in terms of its ability to inhibit the growth of or even kill various Candida species.