Identification of new pathways and compounds that enhance Caspofungin and Voriconazole activity against Aspergillus fumigatus

Abstract

This project has the following objectives: (i) to screen the LifeArc library (https://www.lifearc.org/) for compounds that can synergize caspofungin or voriconazole in A. fumigatus wild-type and caspofungin-, and voriconazole-resistant strains (ii) to characterize the mechanisms of action of the most promising compounds found in the LifeArc library, by several tools such as screening of null mutant libraries (transcription factor, kinase, and phosphatase libraries) and (iii) to characterize the transcriptional profiling of A. fumigatus wild-type and a putative more drug sensitive null mutant when exposed to one of the selected compounds through RNAseq. (AU)