Journal of Isfahan Medical School

Journal of Isfahan Medical School

Evaluation of Biofilm Formation, Hydrolytic Eenzymes and Antifungal Susceptibility of Planktonic Cells of Candida Albicans Species Isolated from Different Clinical Samples

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors
Faezeh Mohammadi 1
Nima Hemmat 2
1 Assistant Professor, Medical Microbiology Research Center, Qazvin university of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
2 Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Research Institute for Non-Communicable Disease Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
10.48305/jims.v40.i696.0942
Abstract
Background: Candida species are common organisms in human and animal mucosa that cause a wide range of Candida infections in immunocompromised patients. This study investigated the ability to produce proteinase, phospholipase and hemolysin as well as biofilm formation in different clinical isolates of Candida albicans.
Methods: In this study, ninety-four C. albicans were identified using phenotypic tests and amplification of the hyphal wall protein (HWP1) gene, and the proteinase, phospholipase and hemolysin production in specific mediums, as well as the ability to biofilm formation using the crystal violet method were evaluated. Then, the antifungal susceptibility of planktonic cells was tested on the basis of the CLSI- M27-A3/S protocol.
Findings: In this study, the proteinase, phospholipase and hemolysin activities of C.albicans isolated from different body sites were 82%, 75.5%, and 68%, respectively. Additionally, 74.5% of the isolates had the ability to biofilm formation. Among the isolates being studied, the strains isolated from the oral cavity showed the highest activity of proteinase, hemolysin and biofilm formation, and the strains isolated from vaginal secretions showed the highest level of phospholipase activity. The susceptibility pattern of C. albicans species to antifungals showed that all isolates were sensitive to AMB and VRC, and resistance to FLC and ITC was reported as 5.4% and 2.2%, respectively.
Conclusion: The results show the importance of molecular epidemiology studies and understanding the role of hydrolytic enzymes and biofilm production in C. albicans strains.
Keywords
Candida albicans
Antifungal agents
Disease susceptibility
Virulence
Biofilms
  1. Ciurea CN, Kosovski IB, Mare AD, Toma F, Pintea-Simon IA, Man A. Candida and candidiasis-opportunism versus pathogenicity: a review of the virulence traits. Microorganisms 2020; 8(6): 857.
  2. Staniszewska M. Virulence factors in Candida species. Curr Protein Pept Sci 2020; 21(3): 313-23.
  3. Noumi E, Snoussi M, Hentati H, Mahdouani K, Del Castillo L, Valentin E, et al. Adhesive properties and hydrolytic enzymes of oral Candida albicans strains. Mycopathologia 2010; 169(4): 269-78.
  4. Naglik JR, Challacombe SJ, Hube B. Candida albicans secreted aspartyl proteinases in virulence and pathogenesis. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2003; 67(3): 400-28.
  5. Sachin CD, Ruchi K, Santosh S. In vitro evaluation of proteinase, phospholipase and haemolysin activities of Candida species isolated from clinical specimens. Int J Med Biomed Res 2012; 1(2): 153-7.
  6. Renner LD, Weibel DB. Physicochemical regulation of biofilm formation. MRS Bull 2011; 36(5): 347-55.
  7. Turan H, Demirbilek M. Biofilm-forming capacity of blood-borne Candida albicans strains and effects of antifungal agents. Rev Argent Microbiol 2018; 50(1): 62-9.
  8. Javaheri MR, Mohammadi F, Chadeganipour M, Nekoian S, Dehghan P. Identification of Candida species in oral cavity of smokers and nonsmokers [in Persian]. J Isfahan Med Sch 2016; 33(362): 2105-10.
  9. Bitar I, Khalaf RA, Harastani H, Tokajian S. Identification, typing, antifungal resistance profile, and biofilm formation of Candida albicans isolates from Lebanese hospital patients. Bio Med Res Int 2014; 2014: 931372.
  10. Romeo O, Criseo G. First molecular method for discriminating between Candida africana, Candida albicans, and Candida dubliniensis by using hwp1 gene. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2008; 62(2): 230-3.
  11. Reference method for broth dilution antifungal susceptibility testing of yeasts M27. 3rd ed. Wayne, PA: Clin Lab Stand Inst; 2008.
  12. Reference method for broth dilution antifungal susceptibility testing of yeasts M 27-S4, approved standard. Wayne, PA: Clin Lab Stand Ins; 2012.
  13. Brilhante RSN, Sales JA, da Silva MLQ, de Oliveira
    JS, de Alencar Pereira L, Pereira-Neto WA, et al. Antifungal susceptibility and virulence of Candida parapsilosis species complex: an overview of their pathogenic potential. J Med Microbiol 2018; 67(7): 903-14.
  14. Peeters E, Nelis HJ, Coenye T. Comparison of multiple methods for quantification of microbial biofilms grown in microtiter plates. J Microbiol Methods 2008; 72(2): 157-65.
  15. Mohammadi F, Hemmat N, Bajalan Z, Javadi A. Analysis of biofilm-related genes and antifungal susceptibility pattern of vaginal candida albicans and non-candida albicans species. BioMed Res Int 2021; 2021: 5598907.
  16. Sims CR, Ostrosky-Zeichner L, Rex JH. Invasive candidiasis in immunocompromised hospitalized patients. Arch Med Res 2005; 36(6): 660-71.
  17. Kalkanci A, Berk E, Aykan B, Caglar K, Hizel K, Arman D, et al. Epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility of Candida species isolated from hospitalized patients. J Mycol Médicale 2007; 17(1): 16-20.
  18. Pahwa N, Kumar R, Nirkhiwale S, Bandi A. Species distribution and drug susceptibility of Candida in clinical isolates from a tertiary care centre at Indore. Indian J Med Microbiol 2014; 32(1): 44-8.
  19. Naglik J, Albrecht A, Bader O, Hube B. Candida albicans proteinases and host/pathogen interactions. Cell Microbiol 2004; 6(10): 915-26.
  20. Yenişehirli G, Bulut Y, Tuncoglu E. Phospholipase, proteinase and hemolytic activities of Candida albicans isolates obtained from clinical specimens [in Turkish]. Mikrobiyol Bul 2010; 44(1): 71-7.
  21. Basu S, Gugnani HC, Joshi S, Gupta N. Distribution
    of Candida species in different clinical sources in Delhi, India, and proteinase and phospholipase activity of Candida albicans isolates. Rev Iberoam Micol 2003; 20(4): 137-40.
  22. Mohammadi F, Geranfar A, Familsatarian B, Amanat N, Javaheri MR, Mirzadeh M. Evaluation of hydrolytic enzyme activity and determination of SAP5 and PLB1 genes in Candida isolates of vaginal infection [in Persian]. J Isfahan Med Sch 2022; 40(658): 32-40.
  23. Noori M, Dakhili M, Sepahvand A, Davari N. Evaluation of esterase and hemolysin activities of different Candida species isolated from vulvovaginitis cases in Lorestan Province, Iran. Curr Med Mycol 2017; 3(4): 1-5.
  24. Ganguly S, Mitchell AP. Mucosal biofilms of Candida albicans. Curr Opin Microbiol 2011; 14(4): 380-5.
  25. Sánchez-Vargas LO, Estrada-Barraza D, Pozos-Guillen AJ, Rivas-Caceres R. Biofilm formation by oral clinical isolates of Candida species. Arch Oral Biol 2013; 58(10): 1318-26.
  26. Jose NV, Mudhigeti N, Asir J, Chandrakesan SD. Detection of virulence factors and phenotypic characterization of Candida isolates from clinical specimens. J Curr Res Sci Med 2015; 1(1): 27.
  27. Mohamed SA, Al-Ahmadey ZZ. Biofilm formation and antifungal susceptibility of Candida isolates from various clinical specimens. Br Microbiol Res J 2013; 3(4): 590-601.
  28. Marak MB, Dhanashree B. Antifungal susceptibility and biofilm production of Candida spp. isolated from clinical samples. Int J Microbiol 2018; 2018: 7495218.
Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 40, Issue 696
4th Week,, January
January and February 2023
Pages 942-949