Unleashing Fungicidal Forces: Exploring the Synergistic Power of Amphotericin B-Loaded Nanoparticles and Monoclonal Antibodies

Overview

Journal J Fungi (Basel)

Date 2024 May 24

PMID 38786699

Authors

Carla Soares de Souza

Victor Ropke da Cruz Lopes

Gabriel Barcellos

Francisco Alexandrino-Junior

Patricia Cristina da Costa Neves

Beatriz Ferreira de Carvalho Patricio

Helvecio Vinicius Antunes Rocha

Ana Paula Dinis Ano Bom

Alexandre Bezerra Conde Figueiredo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Fungal infections cause 1.7 million deaths annually, which can be attributed not only to fungus-specific factors, such as antifungal resistance and biofilm formation, but also to drug-related challenges. In this study, the potential of Amphotericin (AmB) loaded polymeric nanoparticles (AmB-NPs) combined with murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (i.e., CC5 and DD11) was investigated as a strategy to overcome these challenges. To achieve this goal, AmB-NPs were prepared by nanoprecipitation using different polymers (polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(D,L-lactide) (PLA)), followed by comprehensive characterization of their physicochemical properties and in vitro biological performance. The results revealed that AmB-loaded NPs exhibited no cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells (baby hamster kidney cells-BHK and human monocyte cells-THP-1). Conversely, both AmB-NPs demonstrated a cytotoxic effect against , , and throughout the entire evaluated range (from 10 µg/mL to 0.1 µg/mL), with a significant MIC of up to 0.031 µg/mL. Moreover, the combination of AmB-NPs with mAbs markedly intensified antifungal activity, resulting in a synergistic effect that was two to four times greater than that of AmB-NPs alone. These findings suggest that the combination of AmB-NPs with mAbs could be a promising new treatment for fungal infections that is potentially more effective and less toxic than current antifungal treatments.

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