Vitamin D۳: A Promising Antifungal and Antibiofilm Agent Against Candida Species

Background and Purpose: Candida species are opportunistic fungal pathogens that cause mild to life threatening infections in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised populations. The increasing prevalence of drug-resistant Candida species has posed a significant challenge to the management of infections in clinical settings. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the direct antifungal and antibiofilm effect of vitamin D۳ against Candida species.Materials and Methods: The antifungal activity of vitamin D۳ was evaluated by broth microdilution method based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute. Prevention of biofilm formation by Candida albicans was measured using the XTT assay following exposure to different concentrations of vitamin D۳. Moreover, expression of Agglutinin-like sequence gene ۱ (ALS۱), hyphal wall protein gene (HWP۱), secreted aspartyl proteinase ۶ gene (SAP۶), and morphogenesis pathway regulatory gene (EFG۱) were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction using the comparative Ct method (ΔΔ Ct) after exposure to vitamin D۳.Results: Vitamin D۳ showed antifungal activity against Candida species ranging from ۱-۱۲۸ μg/mL. Furthermore, vitamin D۳ inhibited biofilm formation in a dose-dependent manner, with IC۵۰ of ۷.۵ μg/mL. Treatment with vitamin D۳ resulted in significant upregulation of the EFG۱, ALS۱, and SAP۶ genes under hypha-inducing conditions to overcome environmental challenges.Conclusion: Results of the current study demonstrated that vitamin D۳ has a significant inhibitory effect on Candida growth and biofilm formation. Considering its demonstrated antifungal and antibiofilm properties, vitamin D۳ holds promise as a potential agent for medical applications.

کلیدواژه ها:

Antifungal agent ، Biofilm ، Candidiasis ، candida albicans ، Vitamin D۳