Insight into the Roles of Albumin—Alone and in Combination with Either Voriconazole or Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Chromogranin A—In the Growth of Different Microbial Species

Schneider, Francis; Hellé, Sophie; Strub, Jean-Marc; von Hunolstein, François-Xavier; Schaaf, Pierre; Lavalle, Philippe; Scavello, Francesco; Metz-Boutigue, Marie-Hélène

doi:10.3390/antibiotics14100974

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Insight into the Roles of Albumin—Alone and in Combination with Either Voriconazole or Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Chromogranin A—In the Growth of Different Microbial Species

by

Francis Schneider

^1,2,

Sophie Hellé

¹,

Jean-Marc Strub

³

,

François-Xavier von Hunolstein

¹,

Pierre Schaaf

¹,

Philippe Lavalle

¹,

Francesco Scavello

^1,4,*,†

and

Marie-Hélène Metz-Boutigue

^1,*,†

¹

Unité Mixte de recherche (UMR) S 1121, Department of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Federation of Translational Medicine, Strasbourg University, 67081 Strasbourg, France

²

Federation of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Strasbourg University, 67081 Strasbourg, France

³

Laboratoire de Spectrométrie de Masse BioOrganique, Strasbourg University, CNRS IPHC UMR 7178, 67081 Strasbourg, France

⁴

IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, 20089 Milan, Italy

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Antibiotics 2025, 14(10), 974; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14100974

Submission received: 14 July 2025 / Revised: 15 September 2025 / Accepted: 22 September 2025 / Published: 26 September 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Peptides and Their Antibiotic Activity)

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Abstract

Background: Whether therapeutic albumin (ThHSA) can serve as a defense tool in Candida species (spp.) infections is still a matter of debate, although many physicians are in the habit of infusing ThHSA to restore the physiological concentration of endogenous human serum albumin (HSA). Given the need for innovative anti-Candida strategies, we assessed in vitro the role of ThHSA alone or in combination with voriconazole (VCZ) in combating Candida spp. growth and the role of bovine serum albumin (BSA)—used as a substitute for HSA—with two endogenous bovine antimicrobial peptides in combating C. albicans and other microbes. Results: The combination of ThHSA with VCZ enhanced the antifungal effect on C. albicans, sensitive C. tropicalis, sensitive C. glabrata, and C. lusitaniae. However, for resistant C. tropicalis, the combination of ThHSA with VCZ promoted yeast growth, and VCZ tended to suppress the antimicrobial effect of ThHSA on resistant C. glabrata. As to the possible transposition of ThHSA-type properties to BSA (as regards the growth inhibition of other pathogens), we tested combinations of BSA with two physiological chromogranin A-derived antimicrobial peptides (catestatin and cateslytin). BSA enhanced significantly the activity of catestatin (but not cateslytin) in combating C. albicans, A. fumigatus, and M. luteus, but was inactive against S. aureus and E. coli. Conclusions: Our experiments support the fact that albumins display intrinsic antimicrobial properties, with an unpredictable growth inhibitory effect on various microbes. ThHSA can thus be an adjunctive tool for more efficient care of some, though not all, infections. The interaction of BSA with catestatin and cateslytin is related to their structure, with BSA significantly enhancing the effect of catestatin but not that of cateslytin.

Keywords: albumin; Aspergillus; Candida; cateslytin; catestatin; chromogranin A; infection; voriconazole

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MDPI and ACS Style

Schneider, F.; Hellé, S.; Strub, J.-M.; von Hunolstein, F.-X.; Schaaf, P.; Lavalle, P.; Scavello, F.; Metz-Boutigue, M.-H. Insight into the Roles of Albumin—Alone and in Combination with Either Voriconazole or Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Chromogranin A—In the Growth of Different Microbial Species. Antibiotics 2025, 14, 974. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14100974

AMA Style

Schneider F, Hellé S, Strub J-M, von Hunolstein F-X, Schaaf P, Lavalle P, Scavello F, Metz-Boutigue M-H. Insight into the Roles of Albumin—Alone and in Combination with Either Voriconazole or Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Chromogranin A—In the Growth of Different Microbial Species. Antibiotics. 2025; 14(10):974. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14100974

Chicago/Turabian Style

Schneider, Francis, Sophie Hellé, Jean-Marc Strub, François-Xavier von Hunolstein, Pierre Schaaf, Philippe Lavalle, Francesco Scavello, and Marie-Hélène Metz-Boutigue. 2025. "Insight into the Roles of Albumin—Alone and in Combination with Either Voriconazole or Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Chromogranin A—In the Growth of Different Microbial Species" Antibiotics 14, no. 10: 974. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14100974

APA Style

Schneider, F., Hellé, S., Strub, J.-M., von Hunolstein, F.-X., Schaaf, P., Lavalle, P., Scavello, F., & Metz-Boutigue, M.-H. (2025). Insight into the Roles of Albumin—Alone and in Combination with Either Voriconazole or Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Chromogranin A—In the Growth of Different Microbial Species. Antibiotics, 14(10), 974. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14100974

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Insight into the Roles of Albumin—Alone and in Combination with Either Voriconazole or Antimicrobial Peptides Derived from Chromogranin A—In the Growth of Different Microbial Species

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