Speciation, biofilm formation and antifungal susceptibility of Candida isolates

Abstract

Abstract:Recently, an increase in the incidence of infections caused by fungi especially non-albicans Candida species has been reported. Several virulence factors like biofilm formation, toxin production and presence of adhesins contribute to its pathogenesis. This study was undertaken to determine species distribution, biofilm formation and in-vitro antifungal susceptibility of Candida isolated in our tertiary care hospital. One hundred and forty-two clinical isolates obtained from various clinical specimens were subjected to KOH smear and cultured on Sabouraud's Dextrose agar medium. Conventional methods and automated identification system (Vitek 2 Compact) for yeast identification were done. Biofilm forming ability of each isolate was detected using microtitre plate method. Antifungal susceptibility against fluconazole, voriconazole, flucytosine, amphotericin B and caspofungin was tested using Vitek 2 Compact. Out of 142 Candida isolates, 90 (63.4%) were C. albicans and 52 (36.6%) were non-albicans Candida species. Among 52 nonalbicans Candida, C. parapsilosis was found in 20 (38.5%) cases followed by C. tropicalis 16 (30.8%). Among all isolates, 52 (36.6%) were biofilm producers and biofilm positivity was more among non-albicans Candida 28 (53.8%) as compared to C. albicans 24 (26.7%) (p-value <0.002). The maximum positivity was observed with isolates from plastic devices (60%). The minimum inhibitory concentrations of all isolates against antifungal drugs were within susceptible range. Although C. albicans remains the major isolate from various clinical specimens, infections caused by non-albicans. Candida is on the rise and biofilm formation as a virulence factor might have a higher significance for non-albicans Candida species than for C. albicans. The changing epidemiology of Candida infections highlights the need for close monitoring on the distribution, biofilm production and susceptibility to optimize therapy and outcome.

Myristica fragrans oil as a potent inhibitor of Candida albicans: Phase development inhibition and synergistic effect

“…It was reported that some essential oils, as mentioned above, show potential inhibitory effects against Candida spp. biofilm by inhibiting hyphal formation, altering genes related to biofilm formation, or inhibiting adhesive proteins (Arora et al, 2017;Clark-Ordóñez et al, 2017;El-Baz et al, 2021). In the present research, we used relative cell viability and cell quantification by the MTT assay and qPCR, respectively, to demonstrate that M. fragrans oil has potent inhibition activity against C. albicans, which is in line with a previous report (Thileepan et al, 2017).…”

“…Fluconazole inhibits the biosynthesis of ergosterol by interfering with lanosterol 14-α-demethylase activity to produce toxic 14-α-methyl-3,6-diol (Prasad et al, 2016). However, C. albicans resistance has been reported against fluconazole in recent years (Arora et al, 2017). To maintain its existence, C. albicans overexpress the ERG11 gene, which will upregulate the targeted enzyme and stimulate the efflux pump.…”

Antifungal Susceptibility and Biofilm Production of Candida Spp. Isolated From the Oral Mucosa of Denture Patients and Orthodontic Patients Compared to Healthy Controls

“…Antifungal resistance in Candida species is important to track because it can provide information about new, emerging dangers from resistant strains of the disease that can aid in empirical treatment. In our analysis, all 148 of the isolates of Candida were found to be amphotericin B susceptible, which is consistent with the findings published by Arora et al 33 . According to…”

Speciation and antifungal susceptibility pattern of Candida isolated from blood and body fluids

“…The result of the present study (43.39%) are nearby Palwa et al (24.5%) where as lower prevalence was shown by Gandhi and Patel (7.14%), Arora et al (9.36%). [10][11][12] In the present study, C. albicans (45.3%) showed higher prevalence followed by C. tropicalis, (20.75%), C. glabrata (16.98%), C. parapsilosis (13.20%) and C. krusei (3.77%)(Table 2).…”