Abstract
Novel antifungal drugs are urgently needed to treat candidiasis caused by the emerging fungal multidrug-resistant pathogen Candida auris. In this study, the most cost-effective drug repurposing technology was adopted to identify an appropriate option among the 1615 clinically approved drugs with anti-C. auris activity. High-throughput virtual screening of 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase inhibitors was conducted, followed by an analysis of the stability of 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase drug complexes and 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase-dutasteride metabolite interactions and the confirmation of their activity in biofilm formation and planktonic growth. The analysis identified dutasteride, a drug with no prior antifungal indications, as a potential medication for anti-auris activity in seven clinical C. auris isolates from Saudi Arabian patients. Dutasteride was effective at inhibiting biofilm formation by C. auris while also causing a significant reduction in planktonic growth. Dutasteride treatment resulted in disruption of the cell membrane, the lysis of cells, and crushed surfaces on C. auris, and significant (p-value = 0.0057) shrinkage in the length of C. auris was noted at 100,000×. In conclusion, the use of repurposed dutasteride with anti-C. auris potential can enable rapid recovery in patients with difficult-to-treat candidiasis caused by C. auris and reduce the transmission of nosocomial infection.