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Peptides of the Constant Region of Antibodies Display Fungicidal Activity

2012; Public Library of Science; Volume: 7; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pone.0034105

1932-6203

Luciano Polonelli, Tecla Ciociola, Walter Magliani, Pier Paolo Zanello, Tiziana D’Adda, Serena Galati, Flavia De Bernardis, Silvia Arancia, Elena Gabrielli, Eva Pericolini, Anna Vecchiarelli, Denise C. Arruda, Márcia R. Pinto, Luiz R. Travassos, Thelma A. Pertinhez, Alberto Spisni, Stefania Conti,

Fungal Infections and Studies

Synthetic peptides with sequences identical to fragments of the constant region of different classes (IgG, IgM, IgA) of antibodies (Fc-peptides) exerted a fungicidal activity in vitro against pathogenic yeasts, such as Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Malassezia furfur, including caspofungin and triazole resistant strains. Alanine-substituted derivatives of fungicidal Fc-peptides, tested to evaluate the critical role of each residue, displayed unaltered, increased or decreased candidacidal activity in vitro. An Fc-peptide, included in all human IgGs, displayed a therapeutic effect against experimental mucosal and systemic candidiasis in mouse models. It is intriguing to hypothesize that some Fc-peptides may influence the antifungal immune response and constitute the basis for devising new antifungal agents.