Discrimination between the enzymatic activities of Candida albicans pleomorphic forms determined using the api® ZYM test

Abstract

Enzymatic activity profiles for two morphotypes of 37 Candida albicans clinical isolates were compared. Yeast and hyphal forms were grown using yeast extract-peptone-glucose broth or undiluted human serum, respectively. Both morphotypes were documented under scanning electron microscopy. The api(®) ZYM (BioMérieux, France) test was used to evaluate the enzymatic activity profiles for particular pleomorphic forms. None of the examined enzymatic activities showed good agreement (kappa, κ > 0.80) for the two morphotypes of the tested strains. Only leucine arylamidase activity in blastoconidia and hyphae of 35 out of 37 strains appeared to be in significant agreement (κ = 0.770). This phenomenon should be explored further for clinical benefits. For morphotypes of all tested strains, activity profiles of 11 hydrolytic enzymes demonstrated weak agreement (κ = 0.044-0.197). Moreover, satisfactory (κ = 0.218-0.348) and moderate agreement (κ = 0.413-0.479) were noted for enzymatic activity values of five and two enzymes, respectively. The distinct differences in activity profiles of hydrolytic enzymes between hyphae and blastoconidia is suggested to be related to the specific roles of these two morphotypes in particular steps of pathogenesis. Moreover, both morphotypes should be examined by strain biotyping methods. Beta-N-hexosaminidase (HexNAcase) activity assessed by the api(®) ZYM test and on CHROMagar Candida(®) medium (Becton Dickinson, USA) is also discussed.

The in vitro expression of SAP6 gene in Candida albicans morphogenesis mutants under human serum influence

“…Morphological plasticity enables C. albicans colonization and infection of various niches inside the host body (Lu et al 2011). The activity profiles of hydrolytic enzymes differ between yeast and hyphal forms, as various morphotypes play different roles in the particular steps of pathogenesis (Staniszewska et al 2011b). Both the pleomorphism and expression of hyphae-associated genes are regulated by signalizing pathways, such as Rim101 pathway, cAMP-protein kinase A pathway, which include the Efg1p regulator, and a conserved mitogen activated kinase pathway involving Cph1p (Lewis et al 2002;Almeida et al 2008).…”

In vitro Study of Secreted Aspartyl Proteinases Sap1 to Sap3 and Sap4 to Sap6 Expression in Candida albicans Pleomorphic Forms

“…Previously, we demonstrated (Staniszewska et al, 2011a) that the clinical isolate showed virulence determinants, it produced germ tubes, pseudohyphae, and true hyphae in undiluted human serum. Furthermore, strain 82 showed distinct di erences in activity profiles of hydrolytic enzymes between hyphae and blastoconidia by using the api®ZYM test (Staniszewska et al, 2011b).…”

“…Phenotypic and biochemical characterization. e presumptive identification of the clinical strain 82 was conducted using CHROMagar Candida medium (Becton Dickenson, Sparks, MD, USA), as described previously Staniszewska et al (2011b). Colors of the colonies were compared in reference to the C. albicans SC5314 strain.…”