We showed previously that terbinafine, an allylamine with fungicidal activity, could inhibit angiogenesis by suppressing the endothelial cell proliferation. In the present study, we further showed that terbinafine (0-120 micromol/L) dose dependently inhibited the adhesion and migration of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC). Western blot analysis showed that terbinafine decreased...

Using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), Candida albicans can be subdivided into 18 different clades. Farnesol, a quorum-sensing molecule secreted by C. albicans, is thought to play an important role in the development of C. albicans biofilms and is also a virulence factor. This study evaluated whether C. albicans bloodstream infection (BSI) strains belonging to different MLST clades secrete di...

Comparison of the malaria parasite and mammalian protein prenyltransferases and their cellular substrates is important for establishing this enzyme as a target for developing antimalarial agents. Nineteen heptapeptides differing only in their carboxyl-terminal amino acid were tested as alternative substrates of partially purified Plasmodium falciparum protein farnesyltransferase. Only NRSCAIM a...

Bax inhibitor 1 (BI-1) is a highly conserved protein originally identified as a suppressor of the proapoptotic protein Bax to inhibit cell death in animals and plants. The orthologs of BI-1 are widely distributed in filamentous fungi but their functions remain largely unknown. Herein, we report the identification and characterizations of MrBI-1, an ortholog of BI-1, in the entomopathogenic fung...

Hsp12p is considered to be a small heat shock protein and conserved among fungal species. To investigate the expression of this heat shock protein in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans we developed an anti-CaHsp12p antibody. We show that this protein is induced during stationary phase growth and under stress conditions including heat shock, osmotic, oxidative and heavy metal stress. Furthermo...

Liverworts belonging to the Class Hepaticae of the Division Bryophyta, are an excellent source of lower terpenoids. They possess intracellular oil bodies which are composed of lipophilic terpenoids and aromatic compounds. In this study, an attempt was made to identify the prenyllipid component that is localized to the chloroplasts of the liverwort, Heteroscyphus planus (Mitt.) Shiffner. The pre...

The balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production is a crucial aspect of infections caused by Candida albicans. We therefore investigated the effect of yeast concentration on the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine response. Production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) by the murine macrophage cell line J774 decreased significantly as the live yeast concentration in...

It is well established that tobacco smokers have reduced levels of monoamine oxidase activities both in the brain and peripheral organs. Furthermore, extensive evidence suggests that smokers are less prone to develop Parkinson's disease. These facts, plus the observation that inhibition of monoamine oxidase B protects against the parkinsonian inducing effects of the nigrostriatal neurotoxin 1-m...

Background: The clinical significance of the detection of Candida albicans on mucous membranes of the respiratory or intestinal tract from patients in intensive care units is still not finally clarified. Many patients reveal colonization, although, despite increased risk, there are only a few invasive infections detectable. Therefore, antimycotic therapy in this setting is strongly discouraged....

Transportation of pheromones bound with carrier proteins belonging to lipocalin superfamily is known to prolong chemo-signal communication between individuals belonging to the same species. Members of lipocalin family (MLF) proteins have three structurally conserved motifs for delivery of hydrophobic molecules to the specific recognizer. However, computational analyses are critically required t...