Amphotericin B (Ampho B) isa fungicidal drug that causes cell wall injury. Pharmacological ascorbate induces the extracellular prooxidants, which might enter the Ampho B-induced cell wall porosity and act synergistically.W e tested low-dose Ampho B with a short course of pharmacological ascorbate using a mouse model of sepsis preconditioned with an injection of Candida albicans 6 h prior to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). In this model, candidemia reappeared as early as 6 h after CLP with a predictably high mortality rate. This characteristic mimics sepsis in the phase of immunosuppression inpatients. Using the model, at 12- and 18-h post-CLP, we administered isotonic (pH neutralized) pharmacological ascorbate intravenously with low-dose Ampho B or sodium deoxycholate, vehicle-controlled, administered IP. The survival rate of low-dose Ampho B plus ascorbate was 53%, compared with<11% for low-dose Ampho B or high-dose Ampho B alone. In addition, a beneficial effect was demonstrated in terms of kidney damage,liver injury, spleen histopathology, and serum markers at 24 h after CLP. Kidney injury was less severe in low-dose Ampho B plus ascorbate combination therapy due to less severe sepsis. Moreover, ascorbate enhanced the effectiveness of phagocytosis against C. albicans in human phagocytic cells. Taken together, the data indicate that the new mouse model simulates sepsis-induced immunosuppression and that the combination of pharmacological ascorbate with an antifungal drug is a potentially effective treatment that may reduce nephrotoxicity, and perhaps also increase fungicidal activity in patients with systemic candidiasis caused by Candida albicans.

Species of the fungal genus Candida, can cause oral candidiasis especially in immunosuppressed patients. Many studies have investigated the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) to kill fungi in vitro, but this approach has seldom been reported in animal models of infection. This study investigated the effects of PDT on Candida albicans as biofilms grown in vitro and also in an immunosuppressed mouse model of oral candidiasis infection. We used a luciferase-expressing strain that allowed non-invasive monitoring of the infection by bioluminescence imaging. The phenothiazinium salts, methylene blue (MB) and new methylene blue (NMB) were used as photosensitizers (PS), combined or not with potassium iodide (KI), and red laser (660nm) at four different light doses (10J, 20J, 40J and 60J). The best in vitro log reduction of CFU/ml on biofilm grown cells was: MB plus KI with 40J (2.31 log; p<0.001); and NMB without KI with 60J (1.77 log; p<0.001). These conditions were chosen for treating the in vivo model of oral Candida infection. After 5days of treatment the disease was practically eradicated, especially using MB plus KI with 40J. This study suggests that KI can potentiate PDT of fungal infection using MB (but not NMB) and could be a promising new approach for the treatment of oral candidiasis.