Extracellular hydrolytic enzyme activities of the different Candida spp. isolated from the blood of the Intensive Care Unit-admitted patients

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Candida spp. secretes various extracellular hydrolytic enzymes. These enzymes are the important virulence factor for the pathogenesis of Candida. We assessed four different enzymatic activities of Candida isolates obtained from bloodstream infections. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We isolated 79 strains of different Candida species from the blood of the Intensive Care Unit-admitted patients. Species were identified by conventional methods including culture characteristic, germ tube, sugar assimilation, and Dalmau's culture technique. Phospholipase, proteinase, hemolysin, and esterase enzymatic activities were determined by the Plate method. RESULTS: Non albicans candida were the most common isolates from the blood of the ICU admitted patient with a predominance of Candida tropicalis. Hemolytic activity was the most prominent enzyme activity followed by the proteinase activity. Candida albicans (89.86%) was the major proteinase producer, while 95.8% of C. tropicalis produced hemolysin. No esterase activity was shown by the Candida glabrata and Candida krusei. CONCLUSION: No significant difference was observed between the two most common causative agents of candidemia: C. albicans and C. tropicalis.

<p>Anticandidal activity of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles: effect on growth, cell morphology, and key virulence attributes of Candida species</p>

“…The proteolytic action of this enzyme also attributed the tissue invasion and penetration. 40 In the present study, it was found that ScAgNPs at 500 µg/mLinhibits production of SAPs by 82.0, 72.0, 77.5, 67.0, and 83.7% in C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. dubliniensis, C. parapsilosis, and C. krusei, respectively (Figure 7). Similar results were previously reported by Hamid et al, 23 who found that AgNPs synthesized by fungi Aspergillus spp inhibit the secretion of A B SAPs in albicans and non-albicans isolates of Candida.…”

<p>Current Aspects in the Biology, Pathogeny, and Treatment of <em>Candida krusei</em>, a Neglected Fungal Pathogen</p>

“…60 However, other studies have shown that this enzyme activity is found in C. krusei. [61][62][63] Whether this discrepancy is due to different methodologies used to measure phospholipase activity or reflects the phenotypical plasticity of the species remains to be addressed. Nonetheless, the C. krusei genome contains two putative orthologs of the PLB gene family that encodes for the major C. albicans secreted phospholipase activity (Table 1).…”

Divergent Approaches to Virulence in C. albicans and C. glabrata: Two Sides of the Same Coin

“…In C. albicans , secreted hydrolytic enzymes are considered to be important destructive factors that damage host tissues, providing nutrients for its propagation. However, the production of these hydrolytic enzymes is very low or even null in C. glabrata, wherefore its importance for virulence does not seem to be as relevant as it is in C. albicans [67,68,69,70,71,72,73]. The proteinase enzyme is responsible for protein degradation resulting in tissue invasion.…”

“…Otherwise, phospholipases promote the destruction of cell membrane phospholipids, causing cell damage and lysis which allows a greater invasive capacity [76]. Some of the C. glabrata strains are able to produce these enzymes [67,68,70,71,77], which appear to play a role in C. glabrata -associated persistent candidemia [9]. However, phospholipase production in C. glabrata is lower than in C. albicans, and in some cases inexistent [69,72,73], therefore its relation to C. glabrata virulence is not clear and needs further analysis.…”