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Volume 3
Microbiology 2019 & Fungal infections 2019
October 07-08, 2019
Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious diseases
October 07-08, 2019 | Madrid, Spain
MICROBIOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGISTS
MYCOLOGY AND FUNGAL INFECTIONS
2
nd
Annual Congress on
6
th
International Conference on
&
J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, Volume 3
Biofilm formation by
Candida albicans
and
Candida glabrata
under acidic conditions:
Implications on vulvovaginal candidiasis
Bruna Gonçalves, Nuno Miguel Azevedo, Liliana Fernandes, Mariana Henriques
and
Sónia Silva
University of Minho, Portugal
V
ulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) affects millions of women every year and is considered an important public health problem.
VVC is mainly caused by
Candida albicans
, but
Candida glabrata
, which is a species with intrinsically high resistance to
common antifungals, has been increasingly identified in women withVVC. The high incidence of VVC and difficulty in its treatment,
make it crucial to increase the knowledge on
Candida
vaginal virulence. Contrary to most other pathogens the vaginal acidity does
not prevent
Candida
infections, to which
Candida
biofilm formation, on mucosa or intrauterine devices, may contribute. Thus, the
aim of this study was to analyse the biofilm formation and matrix composition of
C. albicans
and
C. glabrata
vaginal isolates at pH
4, promoted by lactic acid, comparatively to a neutral environment.
Candida glabrata
strains presented increased ability to produce
biofilms at acidic conditions suggesting high adaptability to the vaginal environment. In contrast,
C. albicans
strains presented lower
biofilm quantity and filamentation at acidic conditions, what may suggest an acidic-induced biofilm dispersion that may contribute
to the dissemination of an infection. Additionally, the biofilm matrix composition was significantly affected in both species, in
general presenting lower quantity of components at acidic conditions. A high-throughput mass spectroscopy analysis of
C. glabrata
biofilm matrix proteins, which were not investigated before in this species, revealed 397 different proteins at acidic conditions and
606 at pH 7. Importantly, the acidic conditions were found to induce and block the secretion of 71 and 280 proteins, respectively, to
the matrix. This study shows that acidic conditions have a specific and relevant modulation of virulence features of
Candida
species.
As such, the identification of species-specific virulence determinants that may settle the ability of
Candida
species to survive in the
vaginal environment may contribute to the disclosure of new targets to treat VVC.
brunaxgoncalves@gmail.com