Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis: comparison of biofilm formation in terms of biomass and activity

Candida albicans and C. dubliniensis are two species responsible for oral candidiasis, especially in immunocompromised patients. Microbial infection is preceded by adherence and biofilm formation. Biofilm formation represents the most common form of C. albicans in the oral cavity and is considered to be one of the most important virulence factors. In this study, the biofilm formation ability of C. dubliniensis was compared with that of C. albicans in terms of biomass (quantified using crystal violet) and activity (assessed by formazan salts formation). Both species formed heterogeneous biofilms; however, species and strain variations were seen in the quantification of biomass and activity. There was no correlation between pseudohyphae formation and biofilm formation capability.     

Candida albicans Aro1 affects cell wall integrity,biofilm formation and virulence

BackgroundCandida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing life-threatening systemic infections. The C. albicans ARO1 gene encodes an arom multifunctional enzyme, which can possibly catalyze reactions of the shikimate pathway to synthesize aromatic amino acids. However, the functions of C. albicans Aro1 have not been extensively characterized.MethodsARO1 knockdown mutant strain was constructed, using a tetracycline-regulated (TR) expression system. Cell growth of the mutant strain was compared with wild type. Effects of the ARO1 gene knockdown on cell wall properties, adhesion to polystyrene and biofilm formation were further investigated. Finally, Galleria mellonella was used as a model host to study the role of ARO1 in virulence of C. albicans.ResultsWe showed that defective growth in the ARO1 knockdown strain was rescued by supplemental aromatic amino acids. In addition, the ARO1 knockdown strain was easily aggregated and precipitated. The knockdown of ARO1 also caused changes in cell wall properties and compositions and promoted C. albicans cell adhesion to polystyrene and biofilm formation. Finally, the ARO1 knockdown strain showed attenuation of C. albicans virulence.ConclusionThis work provides new insights into C. albicans metabolism, cell wall and virulence.     

The effect of biomaterials and antifungals on biofilm formation by Candida species: a review

Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis are able to form biofilms on virtually any biomaterial implanted in a human host. Biofilms are a primary cause of mortality in immunocompromised and hospitalized patients, as they cause recurrent and invasive candidiasis, which is difficult to eradicate. This is due to the fact that the biofilm cells show high resistance to antifungal treatments and the host defense mechanisms, and exhibit an excellent ability to adhere to biomaterials. Elucidation of the mechanisms of antifungal resistance in Candida biofilms is of unquestionable importance; therefore, this review analyzes both the chemical composition of biomaterials used to fabricate the medical devices, as well as the Candida genes and proteins that confer drug resistance.     

Recent insights into Candida albicans biofilm resistance mechanisms

Like other microorganisms, free-living Candida albicans is mainly present in a three-dimensional multicellular structure, which is called a biofilm, rather than in a planktonic form. Candida albicans biofilms can be isolated from both abiotic and biotic surfaces at various locations within the host. As the number of abiotic implants, mainly bloodstream and urinary catheters, has been increasing, the number of biofilm-associated bloodstream or urogenital tract infections is also strongly increasing resulting in a raise in mortality. Cells within a biofilm structure show a reduced susceptibility to specific commonly used antifungals and, in addition, it has recently been shown that such cells are less sensitive to killing by components of our immune system. In this review, we summarize the most important insights in the mechanisms underlying biofilm-associated antifungal drug resistance and immune evasion strategies, focusing on the most recent advances in this area of research.     

In vitro effect of fibrinogen on Candida albicans germ tube formation

Pseudohyphae formation by Candida albicans blastoconidia, as seen in vaginal smears, is a phenotypical change commonly assumed to mean fungal invasiveness, i.e. not mere colonization. C. albicans forms germ tubes in vitro in the presence of serum. In our search for inhibitory components of germ tube formation, we decided to study fibrinogen. The inhibition of germ tube formation by clinical isolates of C. albicans was evaluated in the presence of serial concentrations of fraction I, type IV and fraction I, type Is of fibrinogen from bovine plasma. Fibrinogen showed a dose-dependent, pH-independent inhibitory effect on the germ tube formation by C. albicans.     

Tyrosol和Farnesol对白念珠菌生物被膜形成作用初探

目的 研究密度感应分子(quorum sensing molecule)tyrosol(对羟基苯乙醇)和farnesol(法呢醇)对白念珠菌生物被膜形成的调控作用.方法 在tyrosol和farnesol干预下构建白念珠菌临床株和标准株生物被膜,在倒置显微镜下观察细胞形态,应用RT-PCR技术检测密度感应分子对白念珠菌HTA1和EFG1基因表达的调控作用,并采用MTT法观察密度感应分子对细胞活性的影响.结果 tyrosol对白念珠菌生物被膜的菌丝发生和细胞活性无明显促进作用,也无法中和farnesol对菌丝发生和细胞活性的抑制作用.tyrosol使白念珠菌生物被膜内细胞HTA1的表达增强,对EFG1的表达并无明显影响;tyrosol不能改变famesol对HTA1和EFG1表达的抑制作用.结论 tyrosol能在一定程度恢复口腔白念珠菌生物被膜内细胞的活跃状态,但当tyrosol与famesol同时存在时,tyrosol的作用被后者的抑制效应所掩盖,细胞对farnesol更敏感.     

Carnosol inhibits the growth and biofilm of Candida albicans

ObjectiveThis study was to explore the inhibitory effects of carnosol on the growth and biofilm of Candida albicans.ResultsOur results showed that carnosol inhibited the planktonic growth of C. albicans with a MIC of 100 μg/mL. Carnosol can also inhibit the biofilm formation and development of C. albicans. 25–100 μg/mL of carnosol can obviously inhibit the yeast-to-hyphal transition in four kinds of hyphal-inducing media and the adhesion of C. albicans to polystyrene surfaces. Results from PI staining indicated that carnosol may disrupt cell membrane of C. albicans.ConclusionCarnosol can inhibit the planktonic growth and virulence factors of C. albicans, such as biofilm formation, adhesion and hyphal growth. The antifungal mechanism may involve the increase in cell membrane permeability.     

药物流出泵抑制剂联合咪康唑清除白假丝酵母菌生物被膜的研究

目的 观察咪康唑分别与两种药物流出泵抑制剂联用清除耐药株(persister)的效果.方法 白假丝酵母菌参考株YEM30,在96孔板中形成生物被膜(biofilm),CDR1抑制剂Enniatin B、CDR1/CDR2抑制剂Milbemycins α25单独或联合与咪康唑作用后,采用菌落形成单位(CFU)计数的方法统计耐药株的数量.采用SAS8.0统计软件包对数据进行q检验.结果 咪康唑分别联合两种药物流出泵抑制剂清除生物被膜耐药株的效果明显优于咪康唑单独使用(P<0.001),其中咪康唑与Enniatin B联用效果更佳.结论 咪康唑与药物流出泵抑制剂联合应用具有清除生物被膜中表现型耐药株的作用,这为提高抗真菌治疗的效果提供了一条新途径和新思路.     

Interspecies variation in Candida biofilm formation studied using the Calgary biofilm device

An in vitro assay to study multiple Candida biofilms, in parallel, has been carried out using the Calgary biofilm device (CBD). We here report: i) standardization of the CBD for Candida albicans biofilm formation, ii) kinetics of C. albicans biofilm formation, iii) biofilm formation by five Candida species, and iv) effect of dietary carbohydrates on biofilm formation. The biofilm metabolic activity on all CBD pegs was similar (p=0.6693) and C. albicans biofilm formation revealed slow growth up to 36 h and significantly higher growth up to 48 h (p<0.001). Significant differences in total biofilm metabolic activity were seen for glucose, fructose and lactose grown C. albicans compared with sucrose and maltose grown yeasts. Candida krusei developed the largest biofilm mass (p<0.05) relative to C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. dubliniensis and C. tropicalis. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that C. krusei produced a thick multilayered biofilm of pseudohyphal forms embedded within the polymer matrix, whereas C. albicans, C. dubliniensis and C. tropicalis biofilms consisted of clusters or chains of cells with sparse extracellular matrix material. We conclude that CBD is a useful, simple, low cost miniature device for parallel study of Candida biofilms and factors modulating this phenomenon.     

Growth competition between Candida dubliniensis and Candida albicans under broth and biofilm growing conditions

Seven isolates each of Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis were paired (11 pairs) and examined for competitive interaction. Equal numbers of CFU of each competitor were inoculated into Sabouraud dextrose broth and incubated at 37 degrees C with vigorous shaking under conditions favorable to either broth or biofilm growth. Surviving proportions of each competitor were calculated from the broth culture at 24 and 96 h and the biofilm culture at 96 h, with species differentiation done on CHROMagar Candida medium. C. albicans had a competitive advantage over C. dubliniensis in broth culture and under biofilm growing conditions; however, with the presence of a supporting structure for biofilm formation, C. dubliniensis was able to better withstand the competitive pressures from C. albicans.     

Hemin induces germ tube formation in Candida albicans.

Hemin induced germination of Candida albicans blastoconidia when cells grown up to the early exponential phase were shifted from 28 to 37 degrees C (70 to 75% of cells exhibited germ tubes). N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), another inducer of myceliation in this fungus, caused a similar effect. The combination of hemin and GlcNAc resulted in a higher percentage (95%) of blastoconidial germination. These results suggest that in addition to temperature, hemin levels and carbon source may coordinately regulate the expression of subsets of genes involved in the yeast-to-mycelium transition in C. albicans.     

Interaction of Candida albicans with adherent human peripheral blood mononuclear cells increases C. albicans biofilm formation and results in differential expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines

Monocytes and macrophages are the cell types most commonly associated with the innate immune response against Candida albicans infection. Interactions between the host immune system and Candida organisms have been investigated for planktonic Candida cells, but no studies have addressed these interactions in a biofilm environment. In this study, for the first time, we evaluated the ability of C. albicans to form biofilms in the presence or absence of adherent peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs; enriched for monocytes and macrophages by adherence). Our analyses using scanning electron and confocal scanning laser microscopy showed that the presence of PBMCs enhanced the ability of C. albicans to form biofilms and that the majority of PBMCs were localized to the basal and middle layers of the biofilm. In contrast to the interactions of PBMCs with planktonic C. albicans, where PBMCs phagocytose fungal cells, PBMCs did not appear to phagocytose fungal cells in biofilms. Furthermore, time-lapse laser microscopy revealed dynamic interactions between C. albicans and PBMCs in a biofilm. Additionally, we found that (i) only viable PBMCs influence Candida biofilm formation, (ii) cell surface components of PBMCs did not contribute to the enhancement of C. albicans biofilm, (iii) the biofilm-enhancing effect of PBMCs is mediated by a soluble factor released into the coculture medium of PBMCs with C. albicans, and (iv) supernatant collected from this coculture contained differential levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Our studies provide new insight into the interaction between Candida biofilm and host immune cells and demonstrate that immunocytes may influence the ability of C. albicans to form biofilms.     

Role of hyphal formation in interactions of Candida albicans with endothelial cells

The ability to change from yeast to hyphal morphology is a major virulence determinant of Candida albicans. Mutants with defined defects in filamentation regulatory pathways have reduced virulence in mice. However, is it poorly understood why hyphal formation is critical for C. albicans to cause hematogenously disseminated infections. We used recently constructed mutants to examine the role of hyphal formation in the interactions of C. albicans with endothelial cells in vitro. These interactions included the ability of the mutants to invade and injure endothelial cells. Because the formation of hyphae may influence the host inflammatory response to C. albicans, we also investigated the capacity of these mutants to stimulate endothelial cells to express E-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule 1. We infected endothelial cells with C. albicans strains containing homozygous null mutations in the following filamentation regulatory genes: CLA4, CPH1, EFG1, and TUP1. Whereas the wild-type strain formed true hyphae on endothelial cells, we found that neither the Deltaefg1 nor the Deltacph1 Deltaefg1 double mutant germinated. The Deltatup1 mutant formed only pseudohyphae. We also found that the Deltaefg1, Deltacph1 Deltaefg1, and Deltatup1 mutants had significantly reduced capacities to invade and injure endothelial cells. Therefore, Efg1p and Tup1p contribute to virulence by regulating hyphal formation and the factors that enable C. albicans to invade and injure endothelial cells. With the exception of the Deltacph1 Deltaefg1 mutant, all other mutants stimulated endothelial cells to express at least one of the leukocyte adhesion molecules. Therefore, the combined activities of Cph1p and Efg1p are required for C. albicans to stimulate a proinflammatory response in endothelial cells.     

根管充填材料加入茶多酚抑制白色念珠菌生物膜的生成

背景：白色念珠菌生物膜是根管充填治疗预后的影响因素,茶多酚体外可能对白色念珠菌生物膜有抑菌作用,其抑菌机制可能通过影响或干扰相关耐药基因的表达而实现。 目的：探讨根管充填材料加入茶多酚对白色念珠菌生物膜的抑制作用。 方法：采用常量肉汤稀释法确定茶多酚体外对白色念珠菌生物膜的最小抑菌浓度,以此判断抑菌效果,然后用逆转录聚合酶链反应方法检测白色念珠菌耐药基因CDR1、CDR2和MDR1受茶多酚作用后的表达水平的变化。 结果与结论：茶多酚对白色念珠菌生物膜的最小抑菌浓度为11.5 g/L,反转录聚合酶链反应结果表明,相关耐药基因CDR1、CDR2的表达水平随着药物浓度的梯度增加而降低,在浓度为23 g/L及更高时mRNA的表达水平受到完全抑制,而药物浓度变化对耐药基因MDR1的表达影响较小。茶多酚体外对白色念珠菌生物膜起到了抑制作用,并对实验所选相关耐药基因CDR1、CDR2的表达过程明显产生了抑制作用。     

Hypha formation in the white-opaque transition of Candida albicans.

Cells of Candida albicans strain WO-1 and related strains switch frequently and reversibly between a white-colony-forming unit (white phase) and a gray-colony-forming unit (opaque phase). Cells in the budding white phase exhibit the usual smooth round phenotype observed in other C. albicans strains, but cells in the budding opaque phase exhibit a unique elongate shape with surface pimples or protrusions. In this study, it was demonstrated that opaque cells formed hyphae at low to negligible levels in suspension cultures but could be induced to form hyphae at high levels when anchored to the chamber wall of a perfusion chamber or to a monolayer of human skin epithelial cells. Variability in the proportion of hyphae formed between experiments appeared to be due to variability between individual opaque clones. The hyphae formed by opaque cells were morphologically identical to hyphae formed by white cells (i.e., they were devoid of pimples or protrusions and exhibited the same shape and septal locations). They also did not stain with an opaque-specific antiserum which differentially stained opaque budding cells in a punctate fashion. However, when stimulated to form buds, opaque hyphae formed opaque-shaped daughter buds, demonstrating that although they are morphologically similar to hyphae formed by white cells, they are genetically opaque.