穿心莲内酯体外抗白念珠菌生物膜作用的初步研究

目的研究穿心莲内酯对体外白念珠菌生物膜的影响。方法采用XTT减低法评价穿心莲内酯对白念珠菌生物膜及其黏附性的影响;镜下观察该药对白念珠菌生物膜的形态学影响;细胞毒性试验检测该药的毒副作用。结果穿心莲内酯对白念珠菌生物膜的SMIC50、SMIC80分别是250、1000μg/ml;1000μg/ml及100μg/ml时对白念珠菌的早期黏附及菌丝生长有抑制作用;对人细胞毒性较弱。结论穿心莲内酯对体外白念珠菌生物膜有显著的抑制作用。     

大蒜素体外抗白念珠菌生物膜作用的初步研究

目的研究大蒜素对体外白念珠菌生物膜的影响。方法 MTT法评价大蒜素对白念珠菌生物膜形成及细胞黏附的影响;血清芽管计数法评价大蒜素对白念珠菌芽管形成的影响。结果低浓度(4μg/mL)和高浓度(64μg/mL)大蒜素对白念珠菌生物膜形成的抑制率分别为(23.0±1.1)%和(95.6±0.3)%;32μg/mL大蒜素对早期(0h)、中期(12h)及成熟期(48h)生物膜的抑制率分别为(88.5±0.5)%、(63.3±0.8)%和(52.3±1.1)%;与空白对照组相比,不同浓度大蒜素(4～32μg/mL)对培养30min、60min、90min、120min的白念珠菌细胞黏附均有显著抑制作用(P0.05);空白对照组芽管形成率为(91.2±1.6)%,64μg/mL大蒜素组为(2.2±1.2)%。结论大蒜素对体外白念珠菌生物膜有较明显的抑制作用。     

壳聚糖体外抗白念珠菌生物膜作用的初步研究

目的观察壳聚糖对白念珠菌生物膜形成的影响,探讨其可能的作用机制。方法 XTT减低法评价壳聚糖对白念珠菌生物膜形成及黏附的影响,镜下观察壳聚糖对白念珠菌生物膜形态的影响;实时定量RT-PCR法观察壳聚糖对白念珠菌的Ras信号通路因子CDC35、PDE2、EFG1和HWP1的基因表达的影响。结果低浓度(0.02 mg/mL)和高浓度(0.32mg/mL)壳聚糖对白念珠菌生物膜形成的抑制率分别为(19.6±1.2)%和(96.96±0.6)%,0.16 mg/mL浓度下壳聚糖对早期(0 h)、中期(12 h)和成熟期(48 h)的生物膜抑制率分别为(78.6±0.5)%、(54.4±0.9)%和(41.1±1.1)%,不同浓度的壳聚糖对各黏附阶段的白念珠菌细胞黏附均有抑制作用,壳聚糖可剂量依赖性地下调白念珠菌生物膜Ras信号通路基因CDC35、EFG1和HWP1的表达水平,上调Ras信号通路抑制剂PDE2的基因表达水平(P<0.05)。结论壳聚糖可能通过影响Ras信号通路及抑制细胞黏附而对白念珠菌生物膜的形成具有抑制作用。     

In vivo and in vitro anaerobic mating in Candida albicans

Candida albicans cells of opposite mating types are thought to conjugate during infection in mammalian hosts, but paradoxically, the mating-competent opaque state is not stable at mammalian body temperatures. We found that anaerobic conditions stabilize the opaque state at 37 degrees C, block production of farnesol, and permit in vitro mating at 37 degrees C at efficiencies of up to 84%. Aerobically, farnesol prevents mating because it kills the opaque cells necessary for mating, and as a corollary, farnesol production is turned off in opaque cells. These in vitro observations suggest that naturally anaerobic sites, such as the efficiently colonized gastrointestinal (GI) tract, could serve as niches for C. albicans mating. In a direct test of mating in the mouse GI tract, prototrophic cells were obtained from auxotrophic parent cells, confirming that mating will occur in this organ. These cells were true mating products because they were tetraploid, mononuclear, and prototrophic, and they contained the heterologous hisG marker from one of the parental strains.     

胡桃楸提取物对体外白念珠菌生物膜形成的影响

目的研究胡桃楸提取物对白念珠菌生物膜形成的影响。方法采用甲基四氮盐（XTT）还原法评价胡桃楸提取物对白念珠菌的生物膜形成及黏附性的影响。镜下观察胡桃楸提取物对白念珠菌生物膜的形态学影响。结果胡桃楸提取物抑制白念珠菌生物膜50％及90％的最小抑制药物浓度（SMIC50、SMIC90）分别为15．2μg、23．4μg。胡桃楸提取物作用浓度大于20μg时对该菌细胞黏附有抑制作用。30μg胡桃楸提取物可完全抑制白念珠菌生物膜的形成。结论胡桃楸提取物对体外白念珠菌生物的膜形成有较强的抑制作用。     

SUMO modification of septin-interacting proteins in Candida albicans

The initiation of bud and hyphal growth in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans both involve polarized morphogenesis. However, there are many differences including the function of the septin proteins, a family of proteins involved in membrane organization in a wide range of organisms. Septins form a characteristic ring on the inner surface of the plasma membrane at the bud neck, whereas the septins are diffusely localized across emerging hyphal tips. In addition, septin rings are maintained at sites of septum formation in hyphae rather than being disassembled immediately after cytokinesis. The possibility that C. albicans septins are regulated by the small ubiquitin-like protein SUMO was examined in this study because the Saccharomyces cerevisiae septins were shown previously to be modified by SUMO (Smt3p). However, SUMO conjugation to septins was not detected during budding or hyphal morphogenesis in C. albicans. These results are supported by the lack of conserved SUMO consensus motifs between septins from the two organisms even after adjusting the predicted Cdc3p and Cdc12p septin sequences to account for mRNA splicing in C. albicans. Interestingly, a homolog of the Smt3p SUMO was identified in the C. albicans genome, and an epitope tagged version of Smt3p was conjugated to a variety of proteins. Immunofluorescence analysis showed prominent Smt3p SUMO localization at bud necks and sites of septum formation in hyphae similar to the septins. However, Smt3p was primarily detected on the mother cell side of the septin ring. A subset of these Smt3p-modified proteins co-immunoprecipitated with the septin Cdc11p. These results indicate that septin-associated proteins and not the septins themselves are the key target of SUMO modification at the bud neck in C. albicans.     

In vivo and in vitro phosphorylation of Candida albicans 20S proteasome

In this paper we demonstrate that the Candida albicans 20S proteasome is in vivo phosphorylated and is a good in vitro substrate (S(0.5) 14nM) of homologous protein kinase CK2 (CK2). We identify alpha6/C2, alpha3/C9, and alpha5/Pup2 proteasome subunits as the main in vivo phosphorylated and in vitro CK2-phosphorylatable proteasome components. In vitro phosphorylation by homologous CK2 holoenzyme occurs only in the presence of polylysine, a characteristic that distinguishes the yeast proteasomes from mammalian proteasomes which are phosphorylated by CK2 in the absence of polycations. The major in vivo phosphate acceptor is the alpha3/C9 subunit, being phosphorylated in serine, both in vivo and in vitro. The phosphopeptides generated by endoproteinase Glu-C digestion from in vivo labeled alpha3/C9 subunit, from in vitro phosphorylation by homologous CK2 holoenzyme, and from the recombinant alpha3/C9 subunit phosphorylated by recombinant human CK2-alpha subunit are identical, suggesting that CK2 is likely responsible for in vivo phosphorylation of this subunit. Direct mutational analysis shows that serine 248 is the residue of the alpha3/C9 subunit phosphorylated by CK2. The in vitro stoichiometry of phosphorylation of the alpha6/C2 and alpha3/C9 proteasome subunits by CK2 can be estimated as 0.7-0.8 and 0.4-0.5 mol of phosphate per mole of subunit, respectively. These results are consistent with the relative abundance of the unphosphorylated and phosphorylated isoforms of these subunits present in the purified 20S proteasome preparation. Our demonstration of phosphorylation of C. albicans proteasome suggests that phosphorylation might be a general mechanism of regulation of proteasome activity.     

28种药物联合氟康唑对白念珠菌体外抑菌作用的初步研究

目的 从常用免疫抑制剂、降血脂药、抗抑郁药、抗生素及非甾体类抗炎药中筛选出可能与氟康唑具有协同增效作用的药物.方法 将5类28种药物配制成相同浓度（100 μg/mL）后分别单独及与低浓度氟康唑联合加入白念珠菌耐药菌株（l00、103）及敏感菌株（sc5314、y0109）菌悬液中,24 h（敏感菌）及48 h（耐药菌）后观察菌液澄清情况,菌液完全澄清为“＋”,混浊为“-”,并重复上述实验3次.结果 舍曲林等7种药物在该浓度下单用即可抑制所有实验菌株生长,与氟康唑合用后抑菌作用更加显著;利福喷丁等6种药物在该浓度下单用只能抑制敏感菌株生长,但与低浓度氟康唑合用后对耐药菌株也有抑制作用.结论 舍曲林、利福喷丁等药物与氟康唑联合后对白念珠菌可能具有协同抑制作用.     

In vitro inhibition of Candida albicans growth by plant extracts and essential oils

The opportunistic Candida albicans yeast strain ATCC 10261 grows at 37 °C and gives germ tubes after 3 h on corn meal agar and blood plasma. It produces chlamydospores and assimilates sucrose, dextrose, galactose, maltose, trehalose and xylose among the tested carbon sources. Other growth characters were also investigated. The agar diffusion cut plug technique revealed that 200 l of Foeniculum vulgare Miller (fennel), Mentha piperita L. (peppermint) and Citrus limon (lemon) essential oils showed inhibitory actions. Fumigation test of the three essential oils had complete inhibition on the growth. The essential oil of Eucalyptus occidentalis End1 (eucalyptus, eucalypt) had no influence on C. albicans growth by the two tests. Meanwhile, methanol extracts of both leaves and male cones of the conifer Thuja orientalis (eastern thuya) had an inhibitory influence on the growth by two tests (cut plug and filter paper disc assay). In comparative tests the antibiotics mycostatin and dermatin had an inhibitory activity on C. albicans at the concentrations of 50–80 g per hole. Crude methanol extract of leaves of eastern thuya (10–80 g/ml) reduced C. albicans growth and intercellular protein nitrogen on liquid media.     

白念珠菌对特比萘芬耐药性的体外梯级诱导和回复研究

目的以浓度梯级倍增的特比萘芬在体外诱导白念珠菌标准株获得耐药子代菌株,并观察其耐药稳定性,从细胞水平研究白念珠菌对特比萘芬耐药前后生物学特性的变化,为进一步采用基因芯片在基因表达水平上研究特比萘芬对白念珠菌的药理作用及其诱导耐药机制提供理想的实验模型。方法将白念珠菌ATCC90028株在特比萘芬浓度逐渐梯级倍增的YPD液体培养基中分别转种传代,直到最后转种至含1024μg／ml特比萘芬的YPD液体培养基中培养,分别测定诱导后形成的各子代菌株的MIC值;选用以1024μg／ml特比萘芬诱导形成的耐药菌株,在不含特比萘芬的YPD液体培养基中连续传代10次后,测定其MIC值,观察其耐药表型的稳定性;并分别用肉眼、光镜和电镜观察白念珠菌耐药性产生前后的形态学特征。结果特比萘芬MIC值为8μg／ml的白念珠菌母本菌株（白念珠菌ATCC90028）成功地被诱导成特比萘芬MIC值为≥512μg/ml的子代菌株,进一步的耐药稳定性实验说明诱导后形成的子代菌株的表型是相对稳定的,诱导后的子代耐药菌株与其母本相比,生长繁殖速度减慢,细胞形态不规则,部分细胞胞膜不完整。结论通过在药物浓度梯级倍增的培养基中连续传代培养的方法可成功建立相同基因型的对特比萘芬敏感的白念珠菌母本和对特比萘芬耐药的子代模型,为获取有亲本的耐药白念珠菌菌株提供了一个有效的实验方法,是在基因水平研究白念珠菌对特比萘芬耐药机制的理想实验模型。     

大蒜素对白色念珠菌生长的抑制作用

探讨大蒜素对白色念珠菌生长的抑制作用。以NCCLS方案检测了胡桃楸提取物和伊曲康唑(ICZ)、氟康唑(FCZ)、两性霉素B(AMB)和5-氟胞嘧啶(5-FC)对133株白念珠菌体外生长抑制作用。标准菌株JC1A的M IC结果表明大蒜素提取物对白念珠菌的抗菌作用相当于FCZ,略低于ICZ、AMB和5-FC;临床分离株对ICZ和FCZ的耐药率很高,对大蒜素提取物的耐药率较低。大蒜素提取物对白色念珠菌生长有强力抑制作用。     

In vitro natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity against Candida albicans: macrophage precursors as effector cells

Bone marrow cells, cultured in L-929 CSF, consist of cells of granulocyte and macrophage lineages. Cells of the granulocyte lineage are known to be cytotoxic for Candida albicans. In this paper we report that macrophage precursor cells also display strong cell-mediated cytotoxicity against the yeast form of the dimorphic fungus C. albicans. The macrophage precursors responsible for this activity are nylon wool-nonadherent, nonphagocytic cells and lack asialo GM1 surface antigen. A purified population of macrophage precursors (greater than 95%) was obtained by means of Percoll density centrifugation. The interaction of these purified effectors with the target yeast cells was analyzed at a single cell level, and their activity was compared with that displayed by cells of the granulocytic series derived from the same bone marrow culture. Macrophage precursor cells proved to be more effective in binding the target cells and showed the same killing ability as the granulocytes: macrophage precursors were not damaged by contact with the target, in contrast to that which happened with granulocytes. In a long-term colony-forming unit assay, in fact, granulocytic cells showed a decrease over time in their ability to inhibit the growth of C. albicans, probably due to cell damage and death after the interaction with the target. In contrast, no loss of activity was observed with the macrophage precursor fraction. The same macrophage precursor cells also proved able to exert good natural killer activity against YAC-1 lymphoma cells, but not against P815 mastocytoma cells, as reported previously. The macrophage precursor cells, when cultivated in vitro to mature macrophages, lost completely their natural cytotoxicity against C. albicans and YAC-1 cells. The implications of these findings, as well as the possible role in vivo of such a precursor cell population during an infection, are discussed.     

In vitro activity of propyl gallate-azole drug combination against fluconazole- and itraconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains

AIMS: The influence of an antioxidant, propyl gallate (PG), on the in vitro antifungal activity of itraconazole and fluconazole, was investigated to determine whether PG could increase the antifungal activity and reduce strain resistance. METHODS AND RESULTS: Susceptibility tests were performed against azole-resistant isolates of Candida albicans by the microbroth dilution method in the presence of PG at 400 microg ml-1. PG-triazole combination brought about a marked reduction of inhibitory azole concentration. In particular, the MIC90 for itraconazole and fluconazole dropped from 1 microg ml-1 to 0.125 microg ml-1 and from > 64 microg ml-1-8 microg ml-1, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is likely that more than one mechanism is involved in the above synergistic interaction, including effects of PG on ATP synthesis, thus reducing the ABC transporters activity, or an effect on the target of azole, i.e. the P-450 cytochrome. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The PG-triazole combination may have a role in future topical antifungal strategies but other studies are warranted.     

Evolutionary dynamics of Candida albicans during in vitro evolution

While mechanisms of resistance to major antifungal agents have been characterized in Candida albicans, little is known about the evolutionary trajectories during the emergence of drug resistance. Here, we examined the evolutionary dynamics of C. albicans that evolved in vitro in the presence or absence of fluconazole using the visualizing evolution in real-time (VERT) method, a novel experimental approach that facilitates the systematic isolation of adaptive mutants that arise in the population. We found an increase in the frequency of adaptive events in the presence of fluconazole compared to the no-drug controls. Analysis of the evolutionary dynamics revealed that mutations that led to increased drug resistance appeared frequently and that mutants with increased levels of resistance arose in independent lineages. Interestingly, most adaptive mutants with increased fitness in the presence of the drug did not exhibit a significant fitness decrease in the absence of the drug, supporting the idea that rapid resistance can arise from mutations in strains maintained in the population prior to exposure to the drug.     

In vitro antifungal resistance in Candida albicans from HIV-infected patients with and without oral candidosis.

The main purpose of this study has been to determine the in vitro antifungal susceptibility of clinical isolates from HIV-infected or AIDS patients, depending on the presence of oral candidosis. The oral cavity of 307 HIV-infected or AIDS patients was examined and an oral swab was cultured on Sabouraud glucose agar and studied by conventional mycological methods. In vitro antifungal susceptibility to amphotericin B, nystatin, fluconazole, itraconazole and ketoconazole was tested by disk diffusion with Neo-Sensitabs tablets (Rosco Diagnostica, Dinamarca). One hundred and thirty five Candida albicans isolates (91 serotype A, 38 serotype B, three C. albicans variety stellatoidea and three untyped isolates), three Candida krusei and two Candida glabrata were obtained. All the isolates were susceptible to nystatin and amphotericin B. However, 7.9% isolates were resistant to fluconazole and 2.9% isolates were resistant to ketoconazole or itraconazole. Nearly all C. krusei and C. glabrata isolates, 31% patients with candidosis and 20% Candida-colonized patients showed decreased susceptibility to azoles. This study shows that polyenes had a great in vitro efficacy against clinical isolates from HIV-infected patients and that in vitro resistance to azoles is not as high as observed in other countries.     

白念珠菌抗氧化基因体外表达研究

目的检测白念珠菌体外抗氧化及调节转录的基因表达情况,进一步了解白念珠菌抗氧化机制在体外生长状态下的作用。方法选取白念珠菌标准株sc5314、3株临床分离保存株及7例临床念珠菌性阴道炎分泌物分离株（白念珠菌）,接种培养鉴定为白念珠菌后,分别将体外SDB振荡培养2 h、6 h、24 h、72 h、120 d的菌液（含未培养0h）,用Trizol法提取总RNA,反转录为cDNA后进行实时荧光定量PCR,检测体外各时间点抗氧化基因及抗氧化转录因子的基因表达情况,运用Ct值比较法进行表达量的相对定量分析。结果与0 h相比,体外6 hSOD2表达增加7.47倍,经Wilcoxon配对符号秩和检验显示P值小于0.01,差异具有统计学意义。其他各基因2 h及6 h分别与0 h相比P值均〉0.01,其表达差异不具有统计学意义。体外培养1 d后各基因表达明显增加,CaHog1、CAP1、CAT及SOD5在第3天达最高,分别为24.23、3.34、33.64及14.72倍;SOD2在第1天达最高为68.95倍;CaSkn7在第5天达最高为7.21倍。经Wilcoxon配对符号秩和检验显示SOD5第1天P值为0.013,其余基因表达P均〈0.01,表达差异具有统计学意义。结论当外界营养逐渐耗竭时,白念珠菌会动态加强抗氧化基因的表达,以抵抗机体内、外产生的氧化压力,其中SOD2可能是最早增加表达的抗氧化基因,3条抗氧化感受通路的转录调节基因均有增加表达,提示3条抗氧化感受通路在适应体外营养限制过程中起了重要作用。     

In vitro response to Candida albicans in cultures of whole human blood from young and aged donors

Invasive infections with opportunistic fungi, such as Candida albicans, have become an increasing problem in aged adults in recent years. This work investigates the influence of human ageing on C. albicans recognition by toll-like receptors (TLRs), essential components of the innate immune system, using a cohort of 96 young (15-42 years) and aged (>70 years) human volunteers. No significant differences between aged and young donors were observed on (1) cell surface TLR2, TLR6 and TLR4 expression on lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes, (2) production of cytokines [IL-8, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and IL-12p70] and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) by whole human blood in response to C. albicans and (3) fungicidal activity of whole blood. A statistically significant higher titre of natural anti-C. albicans antibodies was found in plasma of volunteers between 80 and 95 years old when compared with other age groups, probably as a consequence of the increased levels of serum Ig that has been described in elderly subjects. Therefore, the results indicate that the increased susceptibility to C. albicans infections in the elderly is not a consequence of defects in TLRs expression or signalling, nor of an impaired fungicidal activity of blood.