Biotechnol Lett 2008, 30:1423–1429.PubMedCrossRef Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions TYN and MK participated in the isolation/characterization Daporinad in vivo of bacterial symbionts and in the design of the study. MW performed the electron microscopy. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background The last decades have seen an increase in the immunocompromised population for several

reasons including as a result of treatment of malignant diseases, HIV infection, as well as advances in organ transplantation procedures. In this scenario opportunistic infections, especially those caused by fungi, have become a serious public health problem [11–3]. Candidiasis is the most common fungal infection among patients with a condition that leads to immunosuppression [4,5]. Azoles,

especially fluconazole, have been commonly used to treat fungal infections [6]. However, overexpression of membrane efflux pumps by fungal cells is an important mechanism that causes azole resistance [7]. Some of these efflux pumps belong to the Pleiotropic Drug Resistance (PDR) sub-family of ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters, and they lead to active transport of drugs Selumetinib chemical structure using energy derived from ATP hydrolysis [8]. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can express several ABC transporters, and of these, Pdr5p has been the best studied [9]. This efflux pump causes the extrusion of several drugs that are used to treat fungal infections. Also, it exhibits a Amisulpride profile of substrates and inhibitors that is similar to

those of other ABC transporters that are expressed by pathogenic fungi [10]. These features make Pdrp5 a good experimental model for the study of antifungal resistance mediated by ABC transporters. One strategy for overcoming drug resistance mediated by efflux pumps is the use of compounds that can function as chemosensitizers. These compounds potentiate the efficacy of existing azoles, such as fluconazole, by inhibiting these ABC transporters [11]. Thus, the development of novel azole chemosensitizers that increase the potency of these drugs against both sensitive and resistant fungi may allow the use of previously ineffective antifungal to treat fungal infections [12]. Some studies have already reported compounds that are capable of reversing the resistance phenotype, such as D-Octapeptides [12], enniatin [13], isonitrile [14] and gallic acid derivatives [15]. Recently, interest in organic compounds containing tellurium (Te) or selenium (Se) has increased and several studies have been published demonstrating biological properties for both elements. Despite the relative toxicity conferred by organic compounds containing tellurium [16], some studies have shown that these molecules may have immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties [17], antioxidant abilities [18], and anti-proliferative actions against certain tissues [19].