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Cited by 48Antifungal resistance and susceptibilityFungal and yeast genetics researchFungal Plant Pathogen Control

Repurposing FDA approved drugs against the human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans

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Kim, Kevin, Zilbermintz, Leeor, Martchenko, Mikhail·2015·Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials
DOI 10.1186/s12941-015-0090-4PMC PMC4462072
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The high cost and prolonged timeline of new drug discovery and development are major roadblocks to creating therapies for infectious diseases. Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that is the most common cause of fatal fungal infections in humans and costs $2-4 billion dollars to treat in the US alone. METHODS: To accelerate drug discovery, we screened a library of 1581 existing FDA approved drugs, as well as drugs approved abroad, for inhibitors of C. albicans. The screen was done on YPD yeast growth media as well as on the serum plate assay developed in this study. RESULTS: We discovered that fifteen drugs, all which were originally approved for treating various infectious and non-infectious diseases, were able to kill Candida albicans. Additionally, one of those drugs, Octodrine, displays wide-spectrum anti-microbial activity. Compared to other selected anti-Candida drugs, Octodrine was shown to be one of the most effective drugs in killing serum-grown Candida albicans without significantly affecting the survival of host macrophages and skin cells. CONCLUSIONS: This approach is useful for the discovery of economically viable new therapies against infectious diseases.

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  • DIS's antifungal effects arise from inactivating key enzymes, including ALDH, urease, and carbamate kinase.

    “DIS’s antifungal effects arise from inactivating key enzymes, including ALDH, urease (URE), and carbamate kinase (CK).”

    From Off-label and repurposed use of disulfiram beyond alcohol dependence: A systematic review of clinical and preclinical evidence (2026) · cites this paper as [111]

    The Results section (page not provided) reports moderate-to-weak anti-Candida activity for disulfiram. It does not establish that this effect arises from inactivation of ALDH, urease, or carbamate kinase; searches for those enzymes and the proposed mechanism found no supporting passage. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • DIS disrupts key fungal cell processes and exhibits potent antifungal activity against Candida and Cryptococcus species by inhibiting both growth and biofilm formation.

    “DIS disrupts key fungal cell processes (metabolism, replication, and membrane transport), exhibiting potent antifungal activity against Candida and Cryptococcus species by inhibiting both growth and biofilm formation.111,112,113”

    From Off-label and repurposed use of disulfiram beyond alcohol dependence: A systematic review of clinical and preclinical evidence (2026) · cites this paper as [111]

    The Results section (Screening of inhibitors of Candida albicans lawn formation) reports that disulfiram inhibited C. albicans growth, but describes its activity as moderate to weak, not potent. The Discussion distinguishes this study's non-biofilm growth screen from another group's biofilm screen. Our copy does not establish disulfiram's effects on Cryptococcus, biofilm formation, or the specified cellular processes. (LLM, conf=0.91)

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Authors
Kim, K., Zilbermintz, L., & Martchenko, M.
Affiliations
Keck Graduate Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Martchenko, Mikhail
ORCID
Kim, Kevin
Venue
Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-06-09
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
32-32
ISSN
1476-0711 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12941-015-0090-4
PMC
PMC4462072
OpenAlex
W1581877192
Cited by
48
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 1
FWCI
2.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Johns Hopkins University
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Fungal and yeast genetics research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Fungal Plant Pathogen Control
Keywords
Candida albicans, drug repurposing, FDA-approved drugs, antifungal drug discovery, opportunistic fungal infection
MeSH terms
Antifungal Agents, Candida albicans, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Microbial Viability, Drug Repositioning

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