Background

Candida tropicalis is an important human pathogen that can undergo multiple forms of phenotypic switching.

Aim

We aimed to evaluate the effect of phenotypic switching on the adhesion ability of C. tropicalis.

Methods

C. tropicalis morphotypes included parental phenotypes (clinical isolates) and switch phenotypes (crepe, revertant of crepe—CR, rough, revertant of rough—RR, irregular center and revertant of irregular center—ICR). Adhesion to polystyrene and HeLa cells was determined by crystal violet assay. The percentage of HeLa cells with adhered yeasts and the number of adhered yeasts per HeLa cell were determined by light microscopy. Filamentation among adhered cells was assessed by direct counting.

Results

On polystyrene, 60% of the switch strains showed difference (p < 0.05) on adhesion ability compared to their parental counterpart strains, and altered thickness of adhered cells layers. Filamentation was increased among adhered cells of the switched strains compared to parental strains. A positive correlation was observed between adhesion on polystyrene and filamentation for morphotypes of the system 49.07. The majority of the switched strains showed higher adhesion capability to HeLa cells in comparison to the adherence of the clinical strains. All revertant strains showed a higher number of yeast cells per HeLa cell compared to their variant counterparts (p < 0.05), with exception of the ICR.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that switching events in C. tropicalis affect adhesion and filamentation of adhered cells on polystyrene and HeLa cells. The rise of switch strains with increased adhesion ability may contribute to the success of infection associated with C. tropicalis.

中文翻译：

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对聚苯乙烯和 HeLa 细胞表现出开关表型的热带念珠菌临床分离株粘附力的变化

背景

热带念珠菌是一种重要的人类病原体，可以进行多种形式的表型转换。

目的

我们旨在评估表型转换对热带念珠菌粘附能力的影响。

方法

热带念珠菌形态包括亲本表型（临床分离株）和开关表型（绉，绉-CR，粗，粗-RR，中心不规则和不规则中心-ICR的回复突变的回复突变的回复突变）。通过结晶紫测定法测定对聚苯乙烯和HeLa细胞的粘附。通过光学显微镜确定具有粘附酵母的 HeLa 细胞的百分比和每个 HeLa 细胞粘附的酵母数。通过直接计数评估粘附细胞之间的成丝。

结果

在聚苯乙烯上，60% 的转换菌株 与其亲本对应菌株相比在粘附能力上表现出差异 ( p < 0.05)，并且粘附细胞层的厚度发生了变化。与亲本菌株相比，转换菌株的粘附细胞之间的成丝增加。在聚苯乙烯上的附着力和系统形态类型的长丝化之间观察到正相关 49.07。与临床菌株的粘附相比，大多数转换菌株对 HeLa 细胞显示出更高的粘附能力。 除 ICR 外，所有回复株均显示出每个 HeLa 细胞的酵母细胞数量高于其变异对应物 ( p < 0.05)。

结论

我们的研究结果表明，热带念珠菌中的转换事件会影响粘附细胞在聚苯乙烯和 HeLa 细胞上的粘附和成丝。具有增加的粘附能力的转换菌株的兴起可能有助于与热带念珠菌相关的感染的成功。