Antifungal susceptibility pattern and biofilm-related genes of Vaginal Candida species
Antifungal susceptibility pattern and biofilm-related genes of Vaginal Candida species
Dr.Faezeh Mohammadi,1,*Nima Hemmat,2Zahra Bajalan,3
1. Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology School of Medicine Qazvin University of Medical Sciences 2. Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Research Institute for prevention of Non-Communicable Disease, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences 3. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences
Introduction: Vulvovaginal candidiasis caused by Candida species is a prevalent fungal infection among women. It is believed that the pathogenesis of Candida species is linked with the production of biofilm which is considered as a virulence factor for this organism. The aim of this study was molecular identification, antifungal susceptibility, biomass quantification of biofilm, and detection of virulence markers of Candida species.
Methods: We investigated the molecular identification of 70 vaginal isolates of Candida species, antifungal resistance to Amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole according to CLSI M27-A3 and S4, biofilm formation, and frequency analysis of biofilm-related ALS1, ALS3 and HWP1 genes.
Results: Our findings showed that the most common yeast isolated from vaginal discharge was C. albicans (67%) followed by the non albicans Candida species (33%). All C. albicans complex isolates were confirmed as C. albicans by HWP-PCR, and all isolates of C. glabrata complex revealed to be C. glabrata sensu stricto using multiplex PCR method. FLC resistance was observed in 23.4% of C. albicans and 7.7% of C. glabrata. Resistance rate to ITC was found in 10.6% of C. albicans. The frequency of ALS1, ALS3, and HWP1 genes among Candida species was (67.1%), (80%) and (81.4%), respectively. Biofilm formation was observed in 54.3% of Candida species and the highest frequency detected as virulence factor was for the ALS3 gene (97.3%) in biofilm forming species.
Conclusion: Our results showed the importance of molecular epidemiology studies, investigate of antifungal susceptibility profile, and understanding the role of biofilm-related virulence markers in the pathogenesis of Candida strains.