Sensibilidade a antifúngicos, atividade exoenzimática e produção de biofilme por cepas de Candida tropicalis de origem animal

Abstract

In recent years there has been a significant increase in the incidence of fungal infections caused by Candida species. Although C. albicans be considered the principal representing of the genus, other species have been gaining prominence. C. tropicalis, for example, has been associated with serious invasive cadidiases, being the first or second type of non-Candida albicans Candida most commonly isolated in humans with candidemia and candiduria and is frequently isolated from healthy animals and animals with candidiasis. To establish infection, C. tropicalis expresses many virulence factors such as the secretion of enzymes phospholipases and proteases, biofilm production, among others. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antifungal susceptibility profile and production of virulence factors in strains of C. tropicalis (n=100) isolated from several animal species. The strains were subjected to in vitro susceptibility testing by broth microdilution test, M27-A3 protocol, standardized by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute against amphotericin B, itraconazole and fluconazole. We also evaluated the virulence attributes, such as proteases and phospholipases production and biofilm formation. Regarding the susceptibility of C. tropicalis strains, 38% were resistant to itraconazole, 40% were resistant to fluconazole and 34% were resistant to both azoles. None of the strains were resistant to amphotericin B. Regarding the production of proteases, 84% of the strains secreted these enzymes in the medium with pH 5.0, whereas only 40% of the strains were active at pH 3.5. Only 8% of the strains produced phospholipases. The strains showed different pattern in biofilm production, which 63,2% were strong producers, 17,6% were moderate producers, and 13,3% were weak producers. In sumary, the C. tropicalis strains isolated from animals showed high rate of resistance to azoles and expressed important virulence factors, indicating a potential threat to human and animal health.