In vitro inhibitory effect of miltefosine against strains of Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum and Sporothrix spp.

Miltefosine (MIL), originally developed for use in cancer chemotherapy, has been shown to have important antifungal activity against several pathogenic fungi. Our aim in this study was to determine the in vitro activity of MIL against the dimorphic fungi Histoplasma capsulatum and Sporothrix spp. This was done using the broth microdilution method. MIL had an in vitro inhibitory effect against all strains of H. capsulatum var. capsulatum and Sporothrix spp. analyzed. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) varied from 0.25 mu g/ml to 2 mu g/ml for H. capsulatum var. capsulatum in the filamentous phase and from 0.125 mu g/ml to 1 mu g/ml in the yeast phase. The MIC interval for Sporothrix spp. in the filamentous phase was 0.25-2 mu g/ml. The minimal fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) were <= 4 mu g/ml for isolates of both analyzed species. This study demonstrates that MIL has an antifungal effect in vitro against two potentially pathogenic fungi and that more studies should be performed in order to evaluate its applicability in vivo.