Antifungal peptides: from modes of action to synergistic and immunologic potential

Authors:

Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1,2,#,*, Maria A. Bauer1,#, Katharina Kainz1¸ Martin N. Odabas1 and Frank Madeo1-3,*
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Affiliations:

1 Institute for Molecular Biosciences, NAWI Graz, University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 2 BioHealth Graz, Graz, Austria. 3 BioTechMed Graz, Graz, Austria. # Contributed equally

Keywords: 

Candida, resistance, yeast, antimycotics, drug, azoles, immune system

Corresponding Author(s):

Frank Madeo, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria; madeo@uni-graz.at Didac Carmona-Gutierrez, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria; carmonag@uni-graz.at

Conflict of interest statement:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Please cite this article as:

Didac Carmona-Gutierrez, Maria A. Bauer, Katharina Kainz, Martin N. Odabas, Frank Madeo (2026). Antifungal peptides: from modes of action to synergistic and immunologic potential. Cell Stress 10: 9-18. doi: 10.15698/cst2026.01.315

© 2026 Carmona-Gutierrez et al. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.

Abstract:

Fungal infections pose a significant global health threat with rising morbidity and mortality rates. However, the repertoire of effective antifungal drugs remains narrow, a challenge that is further exacerbated by the increasing emergence of (multi)drug-resistant strains. This underscores the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. Among them, antifungal peptides (AFPs) have emerged as a promising alternative. AFPs are small, naturally occurring peptides produced by a wide range of organisms, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria, as part of their innate immune defense. In addition, synthetic and semisynthetic variants have also been engineered. We here underscore the potential of AFPs as viable candidates for the development of next-generation antifungal therapies. In particular, we advocate their multimodal advantage that spans beyond standalone activity, including their synergistic and immune-regulatory potential.