Chitosan Ameliorates Candida auris Virulence in a Galleria mellonella Infection Model
Laís Salomão Arias, Mark C. Butcher, Bryn Short, Emily McKloud, Chris Delaney, Ryan Kean, Douglas Roberto Monteiro, Craig Williams, Gordon Ramage, Jason L. Brown
Abstract
Candida auris has emerged as a multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen over the last decade. Outbreaks of the organism in health care facilities have resulted in life-threatening invasive candidiasis in over 40 countries worldwide. Resistance by C. auris to conventional antifungal drugs such as fluconazole and amphotericin B means that alternative therapeutics must be explored. As such, this study served to investigate the efficacy of a naturally derived polysaccharide called chitosan against aggregative (Agg) and nonaggregative (non-Agg) isolates of C. auris in vitro and in vivo. In vitro results indicated that chitosan was effective against planktonic and sessile forms of Agg and non-Agg C. auris .