Candida species biofilm and Candida albicans ALS3 polymorphisms in clinical isolates

Author(s)

Bruder-Nascimento, Ariane ^[1] ; Camargo, Carlos Henrique ^[1] ; Mondelli, Alessandro Lia ^[2] ; Sugizaki, Maria Fatima ^[1] ; Sadatsune, Terue ^[1] ; Bagagli, Eduardo ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias Botucatu, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Med Botucatu, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Brazilian Journal of Microbiology; v. 45, n. 4, p. 1371-1377, OCT-DEC 2014.
• Web of Science Citations: 5

Abstract

Over the last decades, there have been important changes in the epidemiology of Candida infections. In recent years, Candida species have emerged as important causes of invasive infections mainly among immunocompromised patients. This study analyzed Candida spp. isolates and compared the frequency and biofilm production of different species among the different sources of isolation: blood, urine, vulvovaginal secretions and peritoneal dialysis fluid. Biofilm production was quantified in 327 Candida isolates obtained from patients attended at a Brazilian tertiary public hospital (Botucatu, Sao Paulo). C. albicans ALS3 gene polymorphism was also evaluated by determining the number of repeated motifs in the central domain. Of the 198 total biofilm-positive isolates, 72 and 126 were considered as low and high biofilm producers, respectively. Biofilm production by C. albicans was significantly lower than that by non-albicans isolates and was most frequently observed in C. tropicalis. Biofilm production was more frequent among bloodstream isolates than other clinical sources,in urine, the isolates displayed a peculiar distribution by presenting two distinct peaks, one containing biofilm-negative isolates and the other containing isolates with intense biofilm production. The numbers of tandem-repeat copies per allele were not associated with biofilm production, suggesting the evolvement of other genetic determinants. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 08/09231-7 - Molecular identification, biofilm production and molecular characterization of ALS gene family of Candida albicans and non-albicans isolates obtained from Hospital das Clínicas, Unesp, Botucatu
• Grantee: Eduardo Bagagli
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 08/10835-4 - Molecular identification and phenotypic and genotypic characterization of biofilm production in isolates of Candida albicans and non-albicans of the Clinical Hospital of Botucatu, UNESP.
• Grantee: Ariane Cristina Mendes de Oliveira Bruder Nascimento
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate