APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Nov., 1966 Vol. 14, No. 6 Copyright © 1966 American Society for Microbiology Printed in U.S.A. Steroid Interference with Antifungal Activity of Polyene Antibiotics WALTER A. ZYGMUNT AND PETER A. TAVORMINA Department of Microbiology and Natural Products Research, Mead Johnson & Company, Evansville, Indiana Received for publication 21 April 1966 ABSTRACT ZYGMUNT, WALTER A. (Mead Johnson & Co., Evansville, Ind.), AND PETER A. TAVORMINA. Steroid interference with antifungal activity of polyene antibiotics. Appl. Microbiol. 14:865-869. 1966.-Wide differences exist among the polyene antibiotics, nystatin, rimocidin, filipin, pimaricin, and amphotericin B, with ref- erence to steroid interference with their antifungal activities against Candida albicans. Of the numerous steroids tested, ergosterol was the only one which ef- fectively antagonized the antifungal activity of all five polyene antibiotics. The antifungal activities of nystatin and amphotericin B were the least subject to vitia- tion by the addition of steroids other than ergosterol, and those of filipin, rimo- cidin, and pimaricin were the most sensitive to interference. Attempts to delineate the structural requirements of steroids possessing polyene-neutralizing activity in growing cultures of C. albicans are discussed. The ultraviolet absorbance of certain antibiotic steroid combinations was also studied. It has been suggested (1, 9, 13) that the polyene While studying the effects of various steroids antibiotics become bound to the fungal cell mem- on the antimonilial activity of pimaricin, we brane and cause permeability changes with observed that ergostenol was almost as effective attendant depletion of essential cellular con- as the above A5-3/3-hydroxy steroids in antag- stituents. Loss of potassium and ammonium onizing pimaricin. In contrast, certain other ions, inorganic phosphate, carboxylic acids, A5-33-hydroxy steroids showed no neutralizing sugar phosphates, nucleotides, and protein have activity. In view of the sparsity of information been shown to occur in several fungal species on the reversal of the biological activity of polyene after exposure to nystatin, filipin, and ampho- antibiotics by certain steroids against Candida tericin B (1, 5, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16). Furthermore, it albicans, a dimorphic fungus, it seemed pertinent has been suggested that the binding site on the to undertake further studies with this organism membrane contains a sterol, possibly unesterified with use of several classes of polyene antibiotics ergosterol (13). The presence of a sterol appears and a wide variety of steroids as potential to be a prerequisite for sensitivity toward the neutralizing agents. polyene antibiotics. Thus far, growth inhibitory activities of the polyene antibiotics have been MATERIALS AND MerHoDs demonstrated against yeasts (6, 14), algae (6, Growth conditions. All studies were done in a 12), protozoa (2), and flatworms (8). In contrast, liquid medium (Sabouraud's dextrose broth) with bacteria which contain no significant amount of volumes of 10 ml in a 50-ml Erlenmeyer flask. Unless sterols are insensitive to these antibiotics. otherwise indicated, the medium had an initial pH of Hickey (6) reported that certain fatty acids 4.5, and all flasks were cultured under constant agita- depress the antifungal activity of ascosin. Gott- tion on a rotary shaker at 28 C. C. albicans (ATCC lieb et al. (3) found that cholesterol, ergosterol, 10231) was maintained on YM (Difco) slants and was transferred at intervals. The inoculum sitosterol, and stigmasterol had a neutralizing weekly used was derived from a suspension of an 18- to 24-hr effect on the of antifungal activity filipin against slant culture in sterile saline. The cells were centri- Hansenula subpelliculosa. The above A5-3,B- fuged, washed twice, resuspended in saline, and ad- hydroxy steroids also antagonized the inhibitory justed to an optical density reading of 0.100 0.010 activity of pimaricin against Saccharomyces with a Coleman Junior spectrophotometer (620 m,p). cerevisiae (15). Two drops ofthis inoculum were used per flask. 865 866 ZYGMUNT AND TAVORMINA APPL. MICROBIOL. Polyene antibiotics. Nystatin and amphotericin B RESULTS were kindly furnished by E. R. Squibb & Sons, New York, N.Y.; rimocidin, by Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc., Data in Table 1 clearly differentiate the ability Brooklyn, N.Y.; pimaricin, by American Cyanamid of various compounds to antagonize the anti- Co., Pearl River, N.Y.; and filipin, by The Upjohn fungal activities of the polyene antibiotics tested. Co., Kalamazoo, Mich. For example, ergosterol is the only compound of Stock solutions (100 pg/ml) of each antibiotic were the 27 tested which interfered with the inhibitory prepared aseptically by dissolving 5 mg of antibiotic in 0.5 ml of dimethyl sulfoxide, diluting promptly activity of nystatin. In contrast, cholesterol, with sterile distilled water, and adjusting the pH to cholesterol acetate, dihydrocholesterol, 5a-cho- 4.5. lestan-3-one, lanosterol, ergosterol, ergostenol, Potential neutralizing agents. Cholesterol, choles- stigmasterol, and ,B-sitosterol are all highly terol acetate, cholesterol propionate, ergosterol, es- effective in neutralizing filipin. Our results tradiol, estrone, deoxycorticosterone, pregnenolone, precisely parallel those of Gottlieb et al. (4), dehydroepiandrosterone, jS-sitosterol, dihydrocholes- with the exception that diosgenin was inactive in terol, stigmasterol, testosterone, progesterone, cholic our hands. Epiandrosterone was not tested. acid, deoxycholic acid, squalene, lanosterol, AW-cho- Interestingly, although cholesterol acetate showed lenic acid-30-ol, A5-pregnen-3,B-ol-20-one-3-methyl with ether, diosgenin, smilagenin, calciferol, 5a-cholestan- reversal activity filipin, the propionate (Table 1) and palnitate (4) derivatives were 3-one, oleic acid, and sodium acetate were tested as possible antagonists of the polyene antibiotics. All inactive. Amphotericin B approached nystatin in compounds were obtained commercially and were of the specificity of chemical structure required for analytical reagent grade. Unless otherwise indicated, vitiation of anticandidal activity in that only addition of these compounds was at 100 pg/ml. ergosterol and j3-sitosterol are active compounds. Ergostenol was prepared by hydrogenation of With the exception of dihydrocholesterol inter- ergosterol (PtO2 in absolute ethyl alcohol). Nuclear fering with the biological activity of rimocidin, magnetic resonance analysis of the product showed it the spectra of compounds antagonizing rimocidin of to be a mixture A8:14 (50%), A8:9 (35%), and and were identical. A7:8 (15%) ergosten-3-ol. pimaricin Addition of the five antibiotics at a twofold All steroids were emulsified with the aid of poly- oxyethylene sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80) and increase in concentration results in only minor propylene glycol, sterilized by free-flowing steam for changes from the steroid-neutralizing activities 10 min and diluted aseptically with distilled water to described above. f3-Sitosterol (100 ,g/ml) failed a concentration of 1 mg/ml. Oleic acid was dissolved to antagonize the growth inhibition of 10 ,ug/ in 95% ethyl alcohol, sterilized by Seitz filtration, and ml of amphotericin B, whereas it was fully active diluted aseptically with distilled water. All other com- at a lower antibiotic level. pounds were dissolved in distilled water, neutralized, The following compounds antagonized the and sterilized by filtration. Only freshly prepared anticandidal activities of all five antibiotics (5 solutions of antibiotics and neutralizing agents were used throughout these studies. and 10 ,ug/ml) by less than 20% and in most The Cary recording spectrophotometer, model 14, instances were totally inactive: calciferol, preg- was used for ultraviolet spectral data. nenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone, TABLE 1. Vitiation of the antifungal activities ofpolyene antibiotics by certain steroidsa Neutralizaton of growth inhibition (per cent)C Steroidb Nystatin Filipin Amphotericin B Rimocidin Pimaricn Cholesterol ...... ..............100 - 100 90 Cholesterol acetate.. 94 - - Dihydrocholesterol.- 100 _ 99 5a-Cholestan-3-one ............. 97 Ergosterol ...................... 88 100 98 100 100 Ergostenol ..................... 95 88 74 Stigmasterol.- ................ 96 22 84 92 B-Sitosterol .................... 96 70 99 100 Lanosterol ....... .._..76 - - - a Addition of all antibiotics was 5 pg/ml, and of steroids, 100 pg/ml. b In the absence of steroids, all antibiotics resulted in complete inhibition of yeast growth. c A total of 27 compounds were tested individually with each of the antibiotics, but only those com- pounds in which the growth inhibition was reduced by at least 20% are indicated. VOL. 14,1966 STEROID INTERFERENCE WITH ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY 867 TABLE 2. Effects ofergosterol and cholesterol additions on the antifungal activities ofpolyene antibioticsa Neutralization of growth inhibition (per cent) Addition Amt Rimocidin Filipin Pimaricin Nystatin Amphotericin B pg/mi Ergosterol ........ 5 0 0 0 0 0 10 1 1 1 1 1 25 95 22 22 38 98 50 100 100 100 92 98 100 97 97 97 90 97 Cholesterol ..... 5 0 100 0 0 0 10 94 100 0 0 0 25 100 100 77 0 0 50 100 100 100 0 3 100 100 100 78 0 7 a Addition of all antibiotics was at 10 Ag/ml, and, in each instance, caused complete inhibition of yeast growth. TABLE 3. Effect ofpH on the neutralization of the growth media with initial pH in the broad range antifungal activities of nystatin