Antimicrobial activity of a decapeptide against Candida albicans

The increasing frequency of infections and drug resistance of Candida albicans has emerged as significant public health challenges, highlighting the urgent need for new antifungal agents. In this study, a decapeptide AntiCADP was designed, which could effectively inhibit the growth of C. albicans. AntiCADP killed C. albicans cells by disrupting the cell membrane, inducing ROS accumulation, damaging mitochondria, and ultimately leading to cellular necrosis. Additionally, AntiCADP inhibited the hyphal morphogenesis and biofilm formation of C. albicans. AntiCADP could also kill C. albicans cells in the mature biofilm. In a mouse subcutaneous infection model, AntiCADP significantly inhibited the development of abscesses, reduced C. albicans cell counts within abscesses, and suppressed inflammatory cell infiltration at the infected area. Taken together, AntiCADP has the potential to be an antifungal agent against skin infections caused by C. albicans.IMPORTANCETo effectively cope with the increasing frequency of infections and drug resistance of Candida albicans, various types of new antimicrobial molecules have been studied. Among these molecules, antimicrobial peptides have attracted great attention. In the present study, we designed a decapeptide AntiCADP, which showed good anti-C. albicans activity in vitro and in vivo. AntiCADP killed C. albicans cells via multiple modes, including disrupting the cell membrane, inducing ROS accumulation, damaging mitochondria, and inducing cellular necrosis. AntiCADP could also inhibit hyphal morphogenesis and biofilm formation of C. albicans and kill C. albicans cells in the mature biofilm. Thus, AntiCADP had the potential against skin infections caused by C. albicans.