Quercetin-induced yeast apoptosis through mitochondrial dysfunction under the accumulation of magnesium in Candida albicans

Publication date: Available online 2 December 2019Source: Fungal BiologyAuthor(s): Min Seok Kwun, Dong Gun LeeAbstractLatterly, the upsurge in use of antifungal drugs has brought about the emergence of several drug-resistance strains, making it skeptical to continue relying on current therapeutic regime. In the necessity of resistance-free antifungal agent, flavonoids presented possibilities of replacing existing drugs, displaying antifungal activity against pathogenic fungi. Among them, quercetin, one of the most representative flavonoids, exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans. To inspect the further understanding regarding quercetin, the antifungal mode of action of quercetin was investigated. In the initial step, the apoptosis was monitored after quercetin treatment. Meanwhile, considering that Mg2+ is a well-known apoptosis inducer, it is possible that Mg2+ also interferes in the apoptosis induced by quercetin. Therefore, intracellular levels of Mg2+ was assessed and was determined that Mg2+ increase occurred under the influence of quercetin. In addition, several features of mitochondrial dysfunction were monitored including increase in mitochondrial Ca2+ levels, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Mitochondrial dysfunction triggers decrease in mitochondrial redox levels and leads to disruption in mitochondrial antioxidant system. The deleterious effect is not only limited to mitochondri...
Source: Fungal Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: research