Combined antifungal therapy against systemic murine infections by rare Cryptococcus species

Cryptococcus albidus and Cryptococcus laurentii are uncommon species of this genus that in recent decades have increasingly caused opportunistic infections in humans, mainly in immunocompromised patients; the best therapy for such infection being unknown. Using a murine model of systemic infection by these fungi, we have evaluated the efficacy of amphotericin B (AMB) at 0.8 mg/kg, administered intravenously, fluconazole (FLC) or voriconazole (VRC), both administered orally, at 25 mg/kg and the combination of AMB plus VRC against three C. albidus and two C. laurentii strains. All the treatments significantly reduced the fungal burden in all the organs studied. The combination showed a synergistic effect in the reduction in fungal load, working better than both monotherapies. The histopathological study confirmed the efficacy of the treatments.