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Review
. 2021 Sep 24;14(10):962.
doi: 10.3390/ph14100962.

Retinoids in Fungal Infections: From Bench to Bedside

Terenzio Cosio  1 , Roberta Gaziano  2 , Guendalina Zuccari  3 , Gaetana Costanza  4 , Sandro Grelli  4 , Paolo Di Francesco  2 , Luca Bianchi  1 , Elena Campione  1
Affiliations
Review

Retinoids in Fungal Infections: From Bench to Bedside

Terenzio Cosio et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

Retinoids-a class of chemical compounds derived from vitamin A or chemically related to it-are used especially in dermatology, oncohematology and infectious diseases. It has been shown that retinoids-from their first generation-exert a potent antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogens, including bacteria, fungi and viruses. In this review, we summarize current evidence on retinoids' efficacy as antifungal agents. Studies were identified by searching electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane, Trials.gov) and reference lists of respective articles from 1946 to today. Only articles published in the English language were included. A total of thirty-nine articles were found according to the criteria. In this regard, to date, In vitro and In vivo studies have demonstrated the efficacy of retinoids against a broad-spectrum of human opportunistic fungal pathogens, including yeast fungi that normally colonize the skin and mucosal surfaces of humans such as Candida spp., Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Malassezia furfur, as well as environmental moulds such as Aspergillus spp., Fonsecae monofora and many species of dermatophytes associated with fungal infections both in humans and animals. Notwithstanding a lack of double-blind clinical trials, the efficacy, tolerability and safety profile of retinoids have been demonstrated against localized and systemic fungal infections.

Keywords: Aspergillus spp.; Candida spp.; Malassezia spp.; all-trans retinoic acid; dermatophytes; microbiology; mycology; mycosis; nanoparticles; onychomycosis; retinoids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
1-methyl-2-(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-naphthalen-2-yl)-1H-benzoimidazole-5-carboxylic acid, a retinoid derivative showing MIC value of 50 μg/mL against Candida krusei and Candida albicans. This sketch was drawn in ChemDraw® Ultra 7.0. Perkin Elmer Italia S.p.A.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structures of the active retinoids against mycosis. The sketches were drawn in ChemDraw ®Ultra 7.0. Perkin Elmer Italia S.p.A.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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