Candida albicans (C. albicans) is an opportunistic human pathogen responsible for approximately a half of clinical candidemia. The emerging Candida spp. with resistance to azoles is a major challenge in clinic, suggesting an urgent demand for new drugs and therapeutic strategies. Alpha–enolase (Eno1) is a multifunctional protein and represents an important marker for invasive candidiasis. Thus, C. albicans Eno1 (CaEno1) is believed to be an important target for the development of therapeutic agents and antibody drugs. Recombinant CaEno1 (rCaEno1) was first used to immunize chickens. Subsequently, we used phage display technology to construct two single chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody libraries. A novel biopanning procedure was carried out to screen anti-rCaEno1 scFv antibodies, whose specificities were further characterized. The polyclonal IgY antibodies showed binding to rCaEno1 and native CaEno1. A dominant scFv (CaS1) and its properties were further characterized. CaS1 attenuated the growth of C. albicans and inhibited the binding of CaEno1 to plasminogen. Animal studies showed that CaS1 prolonged the survival rate of mice and zebrafish with candidiasis. The fungal burden in kidney and spleen, as well as level of inflammatory cytokines were significantly reduced in CaS1-treated mice. These results suggest CaS1 has potential of being immunotherapeutic drug against C. albicans infections.

Combination treatment of ergosterol followed by amphotericin B induces necrotic cell death in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells Combination treatment of ergosterol followed by amphotericin B induces necrotic cell death in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

LUFFACHITINobtained from the residue of the sponge-like dried fruit ofLuffa aegyptiacawas developed as a weavable skin substitute in this study. A chemical analysis revealed thatLUFFACHITINwas composed of a copolymer containing N-acetyl-glucosamine (~40%) as a major monomer with a filamentary structure as demonstrated by both optical and scanning electron microscopy. The pulp-like white residue of the sponge-like dried fruit ofLuffa aegyptiacaafter treatment was then woven into a thin, porous membrane by filtration and lyophilization as a skin substitute for conducting wound-healing study on rats. The results indicated that theLUFFACHITINmembrane showed significant wound-healing enhancement (25 days to complete healing) compared to cotton gauze (>30 days), but not inferior to that ofSACCHACHITIN. Furthermore, theLUFFACHITINmembrane had advantages of having a high yield, better physical properties for fabrication, and a more attractive appearance.