The Department of Dermatovenereology, The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China.
The Department of Dermatovenereology, The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China.
Microb Pathog. 2021 May;154:104825. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2021.104825. Epub 2021 Mar 6.
The study aimed to induce the white-opaque-gray tri-stable transformation in clinical C. albicans and to explore their potential pathogenicity. Sixty-four clinical strains were used to induce the white, opaque and gray cells of C. albicans. Secreted aspartyl proteinases (Sap) activity of the three phenotypes was then measured, and a vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) animal model was constructed. Of the 64 clinical strains, only 3 strains successfully underwent white-gray-opaque tri-stable transformation, and the three strains all belonged to MTL homozygous strains. Pz values in white, opaque and gray phenotypes were 0.834 ± 0.012, 0.707 ± 0.036, and 0.628 ± 0.002, respectively, which indicated that the cells with gray phenotype had higher Sap activity. After inoculation of different fungal suspension, the fungal colony count in descending order was as follows: gray phenotype, opaque phenotype and white phenotype. After treated with fluconazole for 3 days or 10 days, the fungal colony counts were significantly decreased compared with that before treatment (P < 0.05). The Sap activity and pathogenicity of gray cells in C. albicans were the strongest, followed by opaque cells and white cells. Additionally, white, gray and opaque phenotypic cells were all susceptible to fluconazole.
本研究旨在诱导临床白色念珠菌发生白-暗-灰三稳转化，并探讨其潜在的致病性。使用 64 株临床分离株诱导白色、暗和灰色念珠菌细胞，然后测量三种表型的分泌天冬氨酸蛋白酶（Sap）活性，并构建外阴阴道念珠菌病（VVC）动物模型。在 64 株临床分离株中，仅有 3 株成功发生白-灰-暗三稳转化，且这 3 株均属于 MTL 纯合株。白色、暗和灰色表型的 Pz 值分别为 0.834 ± 0.012、0.707 ± 0.036 和 0.628 ± 0.002，表明灰色表型的细胞具有更高的 Sap 活性。接种不同真菌混悬液后，真菌菌落计数依次为：灰色表型、暗表型和白色表型。经氟康唑处理 3 天或 10 天后，真菌菌落计数与治疗前相比明显减少（P < 0.05）。白色念珠菌中灰色细胞的 Sap 活性和致病性最强，其次是暗细胞和白色细胞。此外，白色、灰色和暗表型细胞均对氟康唑敏感。
