Abstract
Candida species cause superficial mycosis and more serious systemic infections. The virulence factors of Candida are their adherence and hyphae formation ability and the production of hydrolytic enzymes. In addition, they produce secondary metabolites which are also implicated in the pathogenesis. Literature on the production of gliotoxin, one of the metabolites by Candida spp. is controversial. The aim of this study was to examine production of gliotoxin and related secondary metabolites by C. albicans strains isolated from the oral cavities of patients with oral infections. Seventeen strains of Candida albicans were obtained and were grown in Eagle’s minimal essential medium supplemented with 10% glucose and 5% foetal bovine serum for 10 and 30 days. Extraction of culture fluids and biomass was done using dichloromethane and examined using a two dimensional thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with time of flight mass spectrometry (MS). Fifteen strains of C. albicans (88%) produced secondary metabolites with a molecular weight of 452 which was nearest to that of gliotoxin standard with a molecular weight of 326. Three major metabolites were isolated and identified. They were eburicol produced by 10 strains, Tryptophol produced by 10 strains and dehydro eburical produced by 12 strains of C. albicans. In conclusion, the strains of C. albicans isolated from the patients with oral infections did not produce gliotoxin. However, they produced tryptophol which is known to be produced by C. albicans, and they also produced eburicol and dehydro eburical which are intermediate compounds in the metabolic pathways to ergosterol. Further research is required to establish their role in the pathogenesis of this organism. Key words: Candida albicans; secondary metabolites; gliotoxin; tryptophol; dehydro eburical.
Highlights
Candida species are medically important unicellular fungi that cause superficial mycosis and more serious systemic infections
The virulence factors of C. albicans responsible for the development of infection are their ability to adhere, form hyphae and biofilm, and produce hydrolytic enzymes
The aim of this study was to examine production of GLT and related secondary metabolites by C. albicans strains isolated from the oral cavities of patients with oral infections
Summary
Candida species are medically important unicellular fungi that cause superficial mycosis and more serious systemic infections. They have been described, in the past 20 years, as the most important emerging nosocomial pathogens (Pasqualotto et al, 2005) and can lead to long hospitalisation with high mortality rates (Lee. et al, 2010). Many Candida spp., such as Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, Candida kefyr, Candida guilliermondii, Candida lusitaniae, Candida stellatoidea and Candida dubliensis are known to be pathogenic, C. albicans is the predominant species that causes infections in HIV positive and cancer patients, patients with diabetes and organ transplants, and hospitalised individuals. The secondary metabolites formed by Candida spp. have not been fully explored. Some of the metabolites produced by Candida spp. are Ergost-8-en-3β ol, Ergosta-8,22-dien3β-ol, Lanosta-8,24-dien-3β-ol, 24-methyl-24,25dihydrolanosterol, 4 methylzymosterol and Obstusifoliol (Turner and Aldrich, 1983)
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