C. albicans EAP1 gene expression was unchanged after 3 h with KSL-W,

but significantly (p < 0.001) decreased after 6 h, while the expression of this gene was upregulated (close to six folds) by amphotericin B (Tables 4 and 5). Amphotericin B increased NRG1 mRNA expression almost threefold, with no significant effect on the EFG1 gene, yet significantly learn more decreased HWP1 gene expression. On the other hand, after 3 h (Table 4) and 6 h (Table 5) of incubation, KSL-W downregulated EFG1, NRG1, and HWP1 mRNA expression. Of interest is that except for similar downregulatory effects on HWP1 gene expression, KSL-W and amphotericin-B produced once again opposite results regarding EFG1and NRG1 gene expression. Table 5 Gene expression (6 h) under hyphae inducing culture conditions (medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, with culture incubation at 37ºC) Gene Untreated C. albicans Amphotericin B KSL-W 25 μg/ml KSL-W 100 μg/ml Fold change1 Fold change1 p-value2 Fold change1 p-value2 Fold change1 p-value2 SAP2 0.99 8.17 0.009 0.7 0.2 1.31 0.02 SAP4 0.96 2.58 0.03 0.73 0.04 0.72 0.04 SAP5 1.00 0.72 0.007 0.83 0.0004 0.56 0.006 SAP6 1.00 4.01 0.02 0.58 0.01 0.68 0.04 EAP1 1.00 6.36 0.001 0.44 0.008 0.73 0.003 EFG1 1.00 1.78 0.048 0.31 < 0.0001

0.47 0.01 NRG1 1.00 3.97 0.0005 0.37 0.001 0.37 0.05 HWP1 1.00 0.008 < 0.001 0.09 0.001 0.03 < 0.0001 1Fold change was calculated by PCR Selleckchem CBL0137 product of the gene of interest/the PCR product of ACT1 (the house

keeping gene), and normalized to the negative control of untreated C. albicans where the expression was considered equal to 1. 2P-values were www.selleckchem.com/products/th-302.html obtained after only comparison of test to negative control (untreated C. albicans). Discussion and conclusions We demonstrated that KSL-W was effective in inhibiting C. albicans growth at short and long culture periods. Although growth inhibition obtained with KSL-W was less than that obtained with amphotericin B, the effects of KSL-W nevertheless remain significant (p < 0.01). The growth inhibition effects of KSL-W are in accordance with previously reported findings [37] showing a downregulation of C. albicans activity induced by a bacteriocin-like peptide isolated from Lactobacillus pentosus. Furthermore, our results support other findings [38] reporting the effectiveness of KSL-W in disrupting P. gingivalis-induced hemagglutination and its synergistic interaction with host AMPs engaged in innate defense. The results strongly suggest that KSL-W is also effective against fungal growth and may be suitable for use to control C. albicans infections. Further studies on the possible synergistic effect of amphotericin B and KSL-W against C. albicans growth may provide insight. C. albicans pathogenesis can also take place through the transition from blastospore to hyphal form [39, 40]. Our results indeed show that KSL-W completely inhibited C. albicans transition with a concentration as low as 5 μg/ml.