Discrimination between the enzymatic activities of Candida albicans pleomorphic forms determined using the api® ZYM...

Area of Science:

• Medical Mycology
• Clinical Microbiology
• Enzymology

Background:

• Candida albicans exhibits pleomorphism, existing as yeast (blastoconidia) and hyphal forms.
• Different morphotypes may possess distinct biochemical characteristics relevant to pathogenesis.
• Understanding enzymatic differences can aid in diagnostics and therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare enzymatic activity profiles between yeast and hyphal morphotypes of Candida albicans clinical isolates.
• To assess the agreement of enzymatic activities between the two morphotypes using the api(®) ZYM system.
• To explore the clinical implications of observed enzymatic differences.

Main Methods:

• Cultivation of 37 Candida albicans clinical isolates in yeast extract-peptone-glucose broth (yeast form) and human serum (hyphal form).
• Documentation of morphotypes using scanning electron microscopy.
• Evaluation of enzymatic activity profiles using the api(®) ZYM test.

Main Results:

• No significant agreement (kappa > 0.80) in overall enzymatic activity profiles between yeast and hyphal morphotypes.
• Leucine arylamidase activity showed significant agreement (kappa = 0.770) in 35 out of 37 strains.
• Weak to moderate agreement was observed for other hydrolytic enzymes, suggesting distinct profiles for each morphotype.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences in enzymatic activity exist between Candida albicans blastoconidia and hyphae.
• These enzymatic variations may be linked to the distinct roles of each morphotype during infection.
• Further research into these differences, including strain biotyping and specific enzyme activities like Beta-N-hexosaminidase (HexNAcase), is recommended for clinical benefit.