ArticlePloS one2014
Molecular mechanisms of action of herbal antifungal alkaloid berberine, in Candida albicans.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Berberine as a Promising Antifungal Agent: Insights into Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.ACS omega · 2026Review
- Natural product based approaches to overcomeFrontiers in antibiotics · 2026Review
- Article
- Mechanism of azole resistance inJournal of medical microbiology · 2025Article
- Inhibitory effects of berberine on fungal growth, biofilm formation, virulence, and drug resistance as an antifungal drug and adjuvant with prospects for future applications.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2024Review
- Mechanism of action and synergistic effect of Eugenia uniflora extract in Candida spp.PloS one · 2024Article
- Antifungal activity and mechanism of action of natural product derivates as potential environmental disinfectants.Journal of industrial microbiology & biotechnology · 2023Review
- Plant as an Alternative Source of Antifungals againstPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Antimicrobial activities and mechanisms of extract and components of herbs in East Asia.RSC advances · 2022Review
- Study on the mechanisms of action of berberine combined with fluconazole against fluconazole-resistant strains ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Discovery of Natural Products With Antifungal Potential Through Combinatorial Synergy.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Balancing Positive and Negative Selection:mBio · 2021Article
- Synergistic Effect of Berberine Hydrochloride and Fluconazole AgainstFrontiers in microbiology · 2020Article
- Coptidis Rhizoma: a comprehensive review of its traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology.Pharmaceutical biology · 2019Review
- Regulation of the heat shock transcription factor Hsf1 in fungi: implications for temperature-dependent virulence traits.FEMS yeast research · 2018Review
- Identification of genome-wide binding sites of heat shock factor 1, Hsf1, under basal conditions in the human pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans.AMB Express · 2018Article
- Tuning Hsf1 levels drives distinct fungal morphogenetic programs with depletion impairing Hsp90 function and overexpression expanding the target space.PLoS genetics · 2018Article
- Article
- In Vitro Activity of Berberine Alone and in Combination with Antifungal Drugs Against Planktonic Forms and Biofilms of Trichosporon Asahii.Mycopathologia · 2017Article
- Membrane of Candida albicans as a target of berberine.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Candida albicans causes superficial to systemic infections in immuno-compromised individuals. The concomitant use of fungistatic drugs and the lack of cidal drugs frequently result in strains that could withstand commonly used antifungals, and display multidrug resistance (MDR). In search of novel fungicidals, in this study, we have explored a plant alkaloid berberine (BER) for its antifungal potential. For this, we screened an in-house transcription factor (TF) mutant library of C. albicans strains towards their susceptibility to BER. Our screen of TF mutant strains identified a heat shock factor (HSF1), which has a central role in thermal adaptation, to be most responsive to BER treatment. Interestingly, HSF1 mutant was not only highly susceptible to BER but also displayed collateral susceptibility towards drugs targeting cell wall (CW) and ergosterol biosynthesis. Notably, BER treatment alone could affect the CW integrity as was evident from the growth retardation of MAP kinase and calcineurin pathway null mutant strains and transmission electron microscopy. However, unlike BER, HSF1 effect on CW appeared to be independent of MAP kinase and Calcineurin pathway genes. Additionally, unlike hsf1 null strain, BER treatment of Candida cells resulted in dysfunctional mitochondria, which was evident from its slow growth in non-fermentative carbon source and poor labeling with mitochondrial membrane potential sensitive probe. This phenotype was reinforced with an enhanced ROS levels coinciding with the up-regulated oxidative stress genes in BER-treated cells. Together, our study not only describes the molecular mechanism of BER fungicidal activity but also unravels a new role of evolutionary conserved HSF1, in MDR of Candida.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.