In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Sertraline and Synergistic Effects in Combination with Antifungal Drugs against Planktonic Forms and Biofilms of Clinical Trichosporon asahii Isolates

Trichosporon asahii (T. asahii) is the major pathogen of invasive trichosporonosis which occurred mostly in immunocompromised patients. The biofilms formation ability of T. asahii may account for resistance to antifungal drugs and results a high mortality rate. Sertraline, a commonly prescribed antidepressant, has been demonstrated to show in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities against many kinds of pathogenic fungi, especially Cryptococcus species. In the present study, the in vitro activities of sertraline alone or combined with fluconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, caspofungin and amphotericin B against planktonic forms and biofilms of 21 clinical T. asahii isolates were evaluated using broth microdilution checkerboard method and XTT reduction assay, respectively. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) was used to interpret drug interactions. Sertraline alone exhibited antifungal activities against both T. asahii planktonic cells (MICs, 4–8 μg/ml) and T. asahii biofilms (SMICs, 16–32 μg/ml). Furthermore, SRT exhibited synergistic effects against T. asahii planktonic cells in combination with amphotericin B, caspofungin or fluconazole (FICI≤0.5) and exhibited synergistic effects against T. asahii biofilms in combination with amphotericin B (FICI≤0.5). SRT exhibited mostly indifferent interactions against T. asahii biofilms in combination with three azoles in this study. Sertraline-amphotericin B combination showed the highest percentage of synergistic effects against both T. asahii planktonic cells (90.5%) and T. asahii biofilms (81.0%). No antagonistic interaction was observed. Our study suggests the therapeutic potential of sertraline against invasive T. asahii infection, especially catheter-related T. asahii infection. Further in vivo studies are needed to validate our findings.