Proteomic Analysis Of Berberine-Fluconazole Combination In Treatment Of Fluconazole-Resistant Candida Albicans Isolates

Multidrug resistance aggravates treatment failure of invasive infections with C.aIbicans, a most common Candida pathogen. Few were reported aboutcombination therapy against C. albicans resistant to fluconazole (FLC). Berberinechloride (BBR), a natural compound, has low host toxicity. We finded out thesynergic effect in vitro between FLC and BBR against FLC-resistant C. albicans.In this study, we first established a "Four-step method" for extraction andseparation of Candida albicans total proteins. This kind of method is an effectiveapproach to study C. albicans membrane proteome, laying a foundation for furtherinvestigation of the antifungal agents' action and the drug resistance in C.albicans.Then we using the technique of proteomics to study the mechanism ofberberine-fluconazole combination in treatment of fluconazole-resistant Candidaalbicans isolates.We compared 2-DE maps of four fluconazole-resistant Candidaalbicans'total protein samples such as control(no drug treatment),FLC(64μg/ml)treatment,BBR(16/μg/ml) treatment and combination of FLC(64/μg/ml) to BBR(16/μg/ml) treatment 6h, and then we identified 10 proteins(Adhlp, Gaplp, Fbalp,Snzlp, Enolp, Potl4p, Acolp, Inolp, IPF13836, IPF20104)differentiallyexpressed in four maps.FLC and BBR can increase the production of intra-cellularreactive oxygen species (ROS) additivity.These differentially expressed proteinsprovide materials for further investigation on the molecular mechanism ofberberine-fluconazole combination in treatment of fluconazole-resistant Candidaalbicans isolates.