[Comparative study of the Candida albicans genotypes isolated from immunocompromised patients and health carriers]

The aim of this study is to compare Candida albicans strain genotype isolates from oral cavity of immunocompromised patients due to different immunologic impairments with apparently normal carriers. Four populations were studied: 1) HIV positive hospitalized patients, 2) HIV negative immunocompromised patients (leukemia, lymphoma, organ transplant recipients), 3) drug addicts prior to AIDS pandemia in Argentina, 4) apparently normal carriers. DNA extracted was digested with the enzyme Eco RI, electrophoresed, transferred to nitrocellulose membrane and hybridized with the 27A probe labelled with 32P. The comparison between the profiles obtained permitted the differentiation of 16 genotypes. The distribution of the strains led to the conclusion that: a) all the isolated strains from AIDS patients were closely related and distributed in only three genotypes (1, 3, 11); b) a major genetic relationship between the isolates from AIDS patients and HIV negative immunocompromised patients was observed; c) strains from carriers showed a minor genetic similarity with those obtained from AIDS patients; d) characteristic profiles belonging to any of the studied groups were not found; e) significant genomic changes have not been observed during the last twenty years.