Virulence attributes and genetic variability of oral Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis isolates

Abstract

The wide spectrum of candidiasis and its clinical importance encourage the research with the purpose of clarifying the mechanisms of pathogenicity and identification of virulence factors of Candida sp. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify the adhesion capacity, protease activity and genotypic diversity of oral C. albicans and C. tropicalis isolates. The adhesion ability to the extracellular matrix glycoproteins laminin and fibronectin was evaluated using the ELISA technique. The research of proteases was carried out in agar plate containing bovine albumin and through a quantitative method in buffer solution containing haemoglobin. Intra and interspecies polymorphisms was verified through random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. All C. albicans and C. tropicalis isolates binded to immobilised laminin and fibronectin. Ca33 and Ct13 isolates had relative adhesion index significantly higher than the other isolates for both glycoproteins (P < 0.001). Protease activity was observed in all isolates of C. albicans using either the semi-quantitative or quantitative assay. The protease activity of C. tropicalis was better detected through the quantitative assay. The genotypic diversity by RAPD revealed a heterogeneous population in both species. Nevertheless, C. tropicalis presented higher genetic variability than C. albicans strains.

Molecular epidemiology of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata strains isolated from intensive care unit patients in Poland

“…These findings were in accordance with results obtained by da Costa et al (2012) who studied the genetic homology of 15 C. albicans strains using five primers. Similar results were found by Marol and Yücesoy (2008) who used four primers for typing 42 C. albicans strains recovered from ICU patients.…”

Fibronectin-, vitronectin- and laminin-binding proteins at the cell walls of Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis pathogenic yeasts

“…Fibronectin- and laminin-binding by C. tropicalis has also been reported [ 20 ], albeit without deeper insight into this phenomenon. Significantly, the adhesion of these two ECMPs to C. tropicalis cells was significantly higher than to C. albicans [ 28 ]. In our current analyses, for the first time, the C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis cell wall-associated proteins were characterized in terms of interactions with fibronectin, vitronectin and laminin.…”

An Update on Candida tropicalis Based on Basic and Clinical Approaches

“…Genotyping methods have largely been used recently to investigate a genetic correlation of different strains of the same species or even among different species (Table 2 ). These methods may be applied to the investigation of infections caused by similar or identical strains, besides the observation of possible micro-evolution or strains substitution during colonization and infection (da Costa et al, 2012 ; Almeida et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Da Costa et al ( 2012 ) genotyped by RAPD 15 strains of C. tropicalis oral isolates with primers OPA-01, OPA-09, OPB-11, OPE-18, and SEQ-06 (da Costa et al, 2012 ). OPA-01 showed the best discriminatory power, presenting ten distinct patterns for C. tropicalis isolates, with 80% similarity (da Costa et al, 2012 ).…”

“…Da Costa et al ( 2012 ) genotyped by RAPD 15 strains of C. tropicalis oral isolates with primers OPA-01, OPA-09, OPB-11, OPE-18, and SEQ-06 (da Costa et al, 2012 ). OPA-01 showed the best discriminatory power, presenting ten distinct patterns for C. tropicalis isolates, with 80% similarity (da Costa et al, 2012 ). Another study using primers OPE-03, RP4-2, OPE-18, and AP50-with 12 catheter tip and urine isolates, obtained 9 different clusters with similarities coefficients (SABs) ranging from 0.8 to 1.0, where different strains were considered unrelated (if SAB was bellow 0.8), moderately related (SAB 0.8–0.89), highly related (SAB 0.90–0.99), and identical (SAB 1.0) (Marol and Yücesoy, 2008 ).…”