Transcriptional profiles of Trichophyton rubrum in response to inhibitor agent Acriflavine

Abstract

The dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum is a filamentous anthropophilic fungus that became the most common agent isolated in cases of human dermatophytoses. Recently, this fungus has been the cause of deep and widespread infections in immunocompromised patients. There are several drugs available to control fungal infections, but these treatments have several limitations such as few targets and the appearance of resistant fungal strains to these drugs. Therefore it is necessary to find new therapeutic strategies to control such infections, looking for different molecular targets and new drugs. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the transcriptional profile of the dermatophyte T. rubrum in response to the inhibitor agent acriflavin, an intercalative agent which presents antifungal activity and did not act on the same targets of most drugs used commercially. In order to evaluate the expressed genes in response to this drug a new methodology for large-scale sequencing, the pyrosequencing, will be applied. The identification of molecular mechanisms involved in the adaptation of T. rubrum to the stress caused by exposure to acriflavin may elucidate the action mechanisms of this drug which may become a therapeutic strategy to be considered.