Transcriptome sequencing revealed the inhibitory mechanism of ketoconazole on clinical Microsporum canis

Abstract

Background: Microsporum canis is a zoonotic disease that can cause dermatophytosis in animals and humans. Objectives: In clinical practice, ketoconazole (KTZ) and other imidazole drugs are commonly used to treat M. canis infection, but its molecular mechanism is not completely understood. The antifungal mechanism of KTZ needs to be studied in detail. Methods: In this study, one strain of fungi was isolated from a canine sufering with clinical dermatosis and confrmed as M. canis by morphological observation and sequencing analysis. The clinically isolated M. canis was treated with KTZ and transcriptome sequencing was performed to identify diferentially expressed genes in M. canis exposed to KTZ compared with those unexposed thereto. Results: At half-inhibitory concentration (½MIC), compared with the control group, 453 genes were signifcantly up-regulated and 326 genes were signifcantly down-regulated (p < 0.05). Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis verifed the transcriptome results of RNA sequencing. Gene ontology enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed that the 3 pathways of RNA polymerase, steroid biosynthesis, and ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes are closely related to the antifungal mechanism of KTZ. Conclusions: The results indicated that KTZ may change cell membrane permeability, destroy the cell wall, and inhibit mitosis and transcriptional regulation through CYP51, SQL, ERG6, ATM, ABCB1, SC, KER33, RPA1, and RNP genes in the 3 pathways. This study provides a new theoretical basis for the efective control of M. canis infection and the efect of KTZ on fungi.