Isolation and identification of Candida species in patients with orogastric cancer: susceptibility to antifungal drugs, attributes of virulence in vitro and immune response phenotype

Abstract

BackgroundBecause of the inherent immunosuppression of cancer patients opportunistic infections by Candida spp, occur frequently. This study aimed to identify Candida species in the oral mucosa of 59 patients with orogastric cancer (OGC) and to analyze the immunological phenotype of these patients.MethodsThe yeasts were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS). For all isolates, we performed phospholipases and proteinases assays, in vitro adherence to buccal epithelial cells (BEC), minimum inhibitory concentration of antifungal drugs and determined the cytokine profile by Cytometric Bead Array flow citometry assay.ResultsC. albicans was the most prevalent species in OGC patients (51.6 %) and control group (66.7 %). Candida spp. strains isolated from OGC patients exhibited better adherence to BEC (p = 0.05) than did the control group. Phospholipases production by Candida strains from OGC patients was lower (51.6 %) than in the control group (61.9 %). Proteinases were detected in 41.9 % and 4.8 % of the yeasts from OGC patients and control group, respectively. Significant differences were found in the serum of OGC patients compared to the control group for IL-2, IL-10, TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-17.ConclusionsThe results of this work suggest increased virulence of yeasts isolated from OGC patients and, that this may interfere with the immune phenotype.

Rate of malignant transformation of oral lichen planus: A systematic review

“…It is important to understand the possible role that Candida infection plays in malignant transformation of OLP; studies should report if patients undergo chronic antimycotic therapy considering that pharmacological immunosuppression contributes to overinfection (Lodi et al., ). It would be important to know what kind of Candida is present, as some species are more likely to favor cancer; eventually, it should be considered whether or not the development of drug resistance to Candida can somehow affect the OLP evolution (de Sousa et al., ).…”

Identification of uncommon oral yeasts from cancer patients by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

“…Fungal infections caused by Candida species are common in immunocompromised patients, and the incidence has dramatically increased during the last decades [ 27 , 28 ]. Several virulence factors contribute to the pathogenicity of Candida yeasts, which is one of the main causes of systemic infection in individuals with cancer and contribute to high mortality rates of these patients [ 29 ]. Previous studies reported an incidence of oral yeast colonization and infection amongst cancer patients, ranging from 43% to 90% and 13% to 52%, respectively, depending greatly on the type of cancer, regimens to manage the Candida infections, and advance of the disease [ 6 ].…”

“…These authors found C. albicans (74%) species followed by C. glabrata (11.5%), C. tropicalis (2.6%), C. krusei (2.6%) and C. parapsilosis (1.9%) to be involved [ 6 ]. Another study showed that approximately 85% ( n = 50) of cancer patients were positive for culture of Candida species from the oral mucosa, with C. albicans being the most prevalent species, followed by C. glabrata with 14.5% of cancer patients [ 29 ]. Unlike other reports, the uncommon species of S. capitata and P. kluyveri were found to be involved in oral colonization and infection in the current study (Table 1 ).…”

Evaluation of the phytoconstituents of Auricularia auricula-judae mushroom and antimicrobial activity of its protein extract

“…A total of 10 microbial isolates comprising of Gram-positive bacteria ( Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus subtilis ), Gram-negative bacteria ( Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Klebsiella pneumoniae ), yeast ( Candida albicans ) and dermatophytic pathogens ( Trichophyton schoenleinii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum gypseum, and Microsporum ferugineum ), previously collected from clinical samples in the postgraduate laboratory of the Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, were used in this study. Each of the collected isolates was re-identified and confirmed using the standard protocols as described in the literature [ [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] ].…”