Species identification and antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida bloodstream isolates from population-based surveillance studies in two U.S. cities from 2008 to 2011

Immunoproteomics and immunoinformatics analysis of Cryptococcus gattii: novel candidate antigens for diagnosis

AIM

To identify immunoreactive proteins of Cryptococcus gattii genotype VGII and their B-cell epitopes.

MATERIALS & METHODS

We combined 2D gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting and mass spectrometry to identify immunoreactive proteins from four strains of C. gattii genotype VGII (CG01, CG02, CG03 and R265). Next, we screened the identified proteins to map B-cell epitopes.

RESULTS

Sixty-eight immunoreactive proteins were identified. The strains and the number of proteins we found were: CG01 (12), CG02 (12), CG03 (18) and R265 (26). In addition, we mapped 374 peptides potentially targeted by B cells.

CONCLUSION

Both immunoreactive proteins and B-cell epitopes of C. gattii genotype VGII that were potentially targeted by a host humoral response were identified. Considering the evolutionary relevance of the identified proteins, we may speculate that they could be used as the initial targets for recombinant protein and peptide synthesis aimed at the development of immunodiagnostic tools for cryptococcosis.

Comparative evaluation of BD Phoenix and vitek 2 systems for species identification of common and uncommon pathogenic yeasts

The BD Phoenix system was evaluated for species-level identification of yeasts (250 clinical isolates) and compared with the Vitek 2 system, using ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis as the gold standard. Considering only the species included in each system's database, 96.3% (236/245) and 91.4% (224/245) of the isolates were correctly identified by BD Phoenix and Vitek 2, respectively.

Surveillance of the prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility, and genotypic characterization of invasive candidiasis in a teaching hospital in China between 2006 to 2011

Background

Invasive candidiasis is an important nosocomial infection associated with high mortality among immunosuppressive or critically ill patients. We described the incidence of invasive candidiasis in our hospital over 6 years and showed the antifungal susceptibility and genotypes of the isolated yeast.

Method

The yeast species were isolated on CHROMagar Candida medium and identified using an yeast identification card, followed by analysis of the D1/D2 domain of 26S rDNA. The susceptibilities of the isolates to flucytosine, amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole were tested using the ATB FUNGUS 3 system, and that to caspofungin was tested using E-test strips. C. albicans was genotyped using single-strand conformation polymorphism of CAI (Candida albicans I) microsatellite DNA combined with GeneScan data.

Results

From January 2006 to December 2011, a total of 259 isolates of invasive Candida spp. were obtained from 253 patients, among them 6 patients had multiple positive samples. Ninety-one stains were from blood and 168 from sterile fluids, accounting for 6.07% of all pathogens isolated in our hospital. Most of these strains were C. albicans (41.29% in blood/59.06% in sterile body fluids), followed by C. tropicalis (18.06%/25.72%), C. parapsilosis (17.42%/5.43%), C. glabrata (11.61%/3.99%) and other Candida spp. (11.61%/5.80%). Most Candida spp. were isolated from the ICU. The new species-specific CLSI candida MIC breakpoints were applied to these date. Resistance to fluconazole occurred in 6.6% of C. albicans isolates, 10.6% of C. tropicalis isolates and 15.0% of C. glabrata isolates. For the 136 C. albicans isolates, 54 CAI patterns were recognized. The C. albicans strains from blood or sterile body fluids showed no predominant CAI genotypes. C. albicans isolates from different samples from the same patient had the same genotype.

Conclusions

Invasive candidiasis has been commonly encountered in our hospital in the past 6 years, with increasing frequency of non-C. albicans. Resistance to fluconazole was highly predictive of resistance to voriconazole. CAI SSCP genotyping showed that all C. albicans strains were polymorphic. Invasive candidiasis were commonly endogenous infection.

Identification and antifungal susceptibility of a large collection of yeast strains isolated in Tunisian hospitals

In this study, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was used as a rapid method to identify yeasts isolated from patients in Tunisian hospitals. When identification could not be exstablished with this procedure, sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer with 5.8S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and D1/D2 domain of large-subunit (LSU rDNA) were employed as a molecular approach for species differentiation. Candida albicans was the dominant species (43.37% of all cases), followed by C. glabrata (16.55%), C. parapsilosis (13.23%), C. tropicalis (11.34%), C. dubliniensis (4.96%), and other species more rarely encountered in human diseases such as C. krusei, C. metapsilosis, C. lusitaniae, C. kefyr, C. palmioleophila, C. guilliermondii, C. intermedia, C. orthopsilosis, and C. utilis. In addition, other yeast species were obtained including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Debaryomyces hansenii (anamorph known as C. famata), Hanseniaspora opuntiae, Kodamaea ohmeri, Pichia caribbica (anamorph known as C. fermentati), Trichosporon spp. and finally a novel yeast species, C. tunisiensis. The in vitro antifungal activities of fluconazole and voriconazole were determined by the agar disk diffusion test and Etest, while the susceptibility to additional antifungal agents was determined with the Sensititre YeastOne system. Our results showed low incidence of azole resistance in C. albicans (0.54%), C. tropicalis (2.08%) and C. glabrata (4.28%). In addition, caspofungin was active against most isolates of the collection with the exception of two K. ohmeri isolates. This is the first report to describe caspofungin resistant isolates of this yeast.

Caspofungin MICs correlate with treatment outcomes among patients with Candida glabrata invasive candidiasis and prior echinocandin exposure

Mutations in Candida glabrata FKS genes, which encode the echinocandin target enzyme, are independent risk factors for treatment failures during invasive candidiasis. We retrospectively compared the ability of caspofungin susceptibility testing methods to identify C. glabrata FKS mutant isolates and predict outcomes among patients at our center. Eight percent (10/120) of sterile-site C. glabrata isolates harbored FKS1 (n = 3) or FKS2 (n = 7) mutations, including 32% (10/32) recovered from patients with prior echinocandin exposure. Median echinocandin exposures for mutant and nonmutant isolates were 55 (range, 7 to 188) and 13 (3 to 84) days, respectively (P = 0.004). Sensitivity and specificity of the CLSI caspofungin resistance breakpoint MIC (>0.12 μg/ml by broth microdilution using RPMI medium [BMD-RPMI]) were 90% (9/10) and 3% (3/110), respectively, for identifying FKS mutants. Sensitivity and specificity of receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve-derived breakpoints by BMD-RPMI, BMD-antibiotic medium 3, Etest, and YeastOne ranged from 70 to 100% and 89 to 95%, respectively; susceptibility rates varied from 83 to 90%. The 14-day echinocandin treatment success rate was 67% (44/66); failure was more likely with prior echinocandin exposure (P = 0.002) or infection with an FKS mutant (P = 0.0001) or echinocandin-resistant isolates by BMD-AM3, Etest, and YeastOne (P ≤ 0.03). The failure rate among patients with prior exposure and infection with a resistant isolate was 91% (10/11); it was 22% (12/55) among others (P < 0.0001). In conclusion, ROC-derived caspofungin MIC breakpoints by several methods were sensitive and specific for identifying C. glabrata FKS mutant isolates. Mutations were seen exclusively among patients with prior echinocandin exposure. A paradigm that considers prior echinocandin exposure and caspofungin MICs accurately classified treatment outcomes for C. glabrata invasive candidiasis.

Gain-of-function mutations in PDR1, a regulator of antifungal drug resistance in Candida glabrata, control adherence to host cells

Candida glabrata is an emerging opportunistic pathogen that is known to develop resistance to azole drugs due to increased drug efflux. The mechanism consists of CgPDR1-mediated upregulation of ATP-binding cassette transporters. A range of gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in CgPDR1 have been found to lead not only to azole resistance but also to enhanced virulence. This implicates CgPDR1 in the regulation of the interaction of C. glabrata with the host. To identify specific CgPDR1-regulated steps of the host-pathogen interaction, we investigated in this work the interaction of selected CgPDR1 GOF mutants with murine bone marrow-derived macrophages and human acute monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1)-derived macrophages, as well as different epithelial cell lines. GOF mutations in CgPDR1 did not influence survival and replication within macrophages following phagocytosis but led to decreased adherence to and uptake by macrophages. This may allow evasion from the host's innate cellular immune response. The interaction with epithelial cells revealed an opposite trend, suggesting that GOF mutations in CgPDR1 may favor epithelial colonization of the host by C. glabrata through increased adherence to epithelial cell layers. These data reveal that GOF mutations in CgPDR1 modulate the interaction with host cells in ways that may contribute to increased virulence.

Advances in identification of clinical yeast isolates by use of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based identification is being adopted by clinical laboratories for routine identification of microorganisms. To date, the majority of studies have focused on the performance and optimization of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of bacterial isolates. We review recent literature describing the use of MALDI-TOF MS for the routine identification of a variety of yeasts and yeast-like isolates. Specific topics include the effect of optimized or streamlined extraction methods, modified scoring thresholds, expanded reference libraries, and the possibility of conducting antifungal susceptibility testing using MALDI-TOF MS.

Role of matrix β-1,3 glucan in antifungal resistance of non-albicans Candida biofilms

Candida biofilm infections pose an increasing threat in the health care setting due to the drug resistance associated with this lifestyle. Several mechanisms underlie the resistance phenomenon. In Candida albicans, one mechanism involves drug impedance by the biofilm matrix linked to β-1,3 glucan. Here, we show this is important for other Candida spp. We identified β-1,3 glucan in the matrix, found that the matrix sequesters antifungal drug, and enhanced antifungal susceptibility with matrix β-1,3 glucan hydrolysis.

Milbemycins: more than efflux inhibitors for fungal pathogens

Existing antifungal agents are still confronted to activities limited to specific fungal species and to the development of resistance. Several improvements are possible either by tackling and overcoming resistance or exacerbating the activity of existing antifungal agents. In Candida glabrata, azole resistance is almost exclusively mediated by ABC transporters (including C. glabrata CDR1 [CgCDR1] and CgCDR2) via gain-of-function mutations in the transcriptional activator CgPDR1 or by mitochondrial dysfunctions. We also observed that azole resistance was correlating with increasing virulence and fitness of C. glabrata in animal models of infection. This observation motivated the re-exploitation of ABC transporter inhibitors as a possible therapeutic intervention to decrease not only the development of azole resistance but also to interfere with the virulence of C. glabrata. Milbemycins are known ABC transporter inhibitors, and here we used commercially available milbemycin A3/A4 oxim derivatives to verify this effect. As expected, the derivatives were inhibiting C. glabrata efflux with the highest activity for A3 oxim below 1 μg/ml. More surprising was that oxim derivatives had intrinsic fungicidal activity above 3.2 μg/ml, thus highlighting effects additional to the efflux inhibition. Similar values were obtained with C. albicans. Our data show that the fungicidal activity could be related to reactive oxygen species formation in these species. Transcriptional analysis performed both in C. glabrata and C. albicans exposed to A3 oxim highlighted a core of commonly regulated genes involved in stress responses, including genes involved in oxidoreductive processes, protein ubiquitination, and vesicle trafficking, as well as mitogen-activated protein kinases. However, the transcript profiles contained also species-specific signatures. Following these observations, experimental treatments of invasive infections were performed in mice treated with the commercial A3/A4 oxim preparation alone or in combination with fluconazole. Tissue burden analysis revealed that oxims on their own were able to decrease fungal burdens in both Candida species. In azole-resistant isolates, oxims acted synergistically in vivo with fluconazole to reduce fungal burden to levels of azole-susceptible isolates. In conclusion, we show here the potential of milbemycins not only as drug efflux inhibitors but also as effective fungal growth inhibitors in C. glabrata and C. albicans.