The role of diclofenac sodium in the dimorphic transition in Candida albicans

Abstract

Diclofenac sodium is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that inhibits filamentation in Candida albicans. Here we examined the effect of diclofenac sodium on hypha formation in C. albicans. The C. albicans cells were treated with various concentrations of diclofenac sodium (50, 100, 200 and 500 μg/ml) and incubated at 37 °C for 2 h. The characteristics of hypha formation were then assessed microscopically in both liquid and solid media. The results indicated that the effect of diclofenac sodium was dependent on the concentration of this compound, and preincubation with 500 μg/ml diclofenac sodium completely inhibited hypha formation in both liquid and solid media.

RT-qPCR analysis of RNA extracted from C. albicans indicated that the levels of expression of agglutinin-like sequence 3 (ALS3), RAS1, EFG1 mRNA, which are regulated by the cAMP-EFG1 pathway in C. albicans and three hypha-specific genes (ALS1, ECE1 and HWP1), were decreased in diclofenac sodium treated cells compared to the levels in controls. Our results also demonstrated that diclofenac sodium possesses potent anti yeast-hypha transition activity in vitro and it could be useful in combined therapy with conventional antifungal agents in the management of treatment of Candida albicans infections.