Abstract
This study examined the effects of the antifungal agents amorolfine hydrochloride (AMF) and bifonazole (BFZ) on actin mRNA expression determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification, and the morphology of Trichophyton mentagrophytes. In AMF-treated cultures, the hyphal cells of T. mentagrophytes exhibited concentration- and/or time-dependent progressively degenerative morphological damage. Those cultures exhibiting severe and necrotic morphological changes (such as crushed, bent and flattened hyphal cells) did not express actin mRNA. In BFZ-treated cultures, similar morphological changes were seen in the hyphae of T. mentagrophytes, but these changes were milder than observed in the AMF-treated samples, and actin gene fragments were amplified in all of these samples. These results indicate that actin gene-targeted RT-PCR could be a useful tool for testing the susceptibility of dermatophytes to antifungal agents in vitro.