Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Identification Of A New Class Of Antifungals Targeting The Synthesis Of Fungal Sphingolipids, Patrick Flaherty, Et. Al.

Mathematics and Statistics Department Faculty Publication Series

Recent estimates suggest that>300 million people are afflicted by serious fungal infections worldwide. Current antifungal drugs are static and toxic and/or have a narrow spectrum of activity. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of new antifungal drugs. The fungal sphingolipid glucosylceramide (GlcCer) is critical in promoting virulence of a variety of human-pathogenic fungi. In this study, we screened a synthetic drug library for compounds that target the synthesis of fungal, but not mammalian, GlcCer and found two compounds [N=-(3-bromo-4-hydroxybenzylidene)-2-methylbenzohydrazide (BHBM) and its derivative, 3-bromo-N=-(3-bromo-4-hydroxybenzylidene) benzohydrazide (D0)] that were highly effective in vitro and in vivo against …