Putative
virulence factors of Candida species colonizing
respiratory tracts of patients
Asem A.
Shehabi , Shatha A. Nazzal , Naheel Dajani
Taylor & Francis Health Sciences, part of the Taylor & Francis Group,
Volume 16, Number 4 / December 2004,Pages 214-217
Department of Pathology-Microbiology Faculty of Medicine,
University of Jordan Amman Jordan
Abstract:
The objective of this research was to investigate the patterns
of Candida species colonizing respiratory tracts of hospitalized
patients and their production of putative virulence factors in
vitro. One hundred and twenty-nine Candida isolates were
collected from respiratory tract specimens of adult Jordanian
patients admitted to Jordan University Hospital (JUH) during the
period 1999-2001. The patterns of colonization were as follows.
C. albicans accounted for (67%) of the isolates, followed by
non-C. albicans isolates (33%), including C. krusei (12%), C.
tropicalis (11%), C. glabrata (6%) and other Candida spp. (4%).
No significant differences were determined between the Candida
isolates as regards their secretion in vitro of variable amounts
of putative virulence factors - aspartyl proteinase,
phospholipase and haemolysin (p>0.05). However, the mean
production of proteinase using qualitative measurements is
clearly more observed in C. albicans isolates colonizing the
respiratory tract. The study concludes that putative virulence
factors alone are not responsible for the colonization potential
of Candida species.
Keywords:
Candida species, virulence factors, human respiratory tract,
Jordan
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