TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence, virulence and antifungal activity of C. albicans isolated from infected root canals
AU - Abraham, Sheela B.
AU - al Marzooq, Farah
AU - Himratul-Aznita, Wan Harun
AU - Ahmed, Hany Mohamed Aly
AU - Samaranayake, Lakshman Perera
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the University of Sharjah Project Grant of the Oral Microbiome Research group. The grant funding was used to purchase the lab materials such as chemicals, media, reagents, disposables etc. required to carry out the experiments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Background: There is limited data on the prevalence of Candida species in infected root canal systems of human teeth. We attempted to investigate the prevalence, genotype, virulence and the antifungal susceptibility of Candida albicans isolated from infected root canals of patients with primary and post-treatment infections in a UAE population. Methods: Microbiological samples from 71 subjects with infected root canals were aseptically collected, and cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar, and C. albicans was identified using multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and the isolates were further subtyped using ABC genotyping system. Their relative virulence was compared using further four archival samples of endodontic origin from another geographical region, and four more salivary isolates, as controls. The virulence attributes compared were biofilm formation, and production of phospholipase and haemolysin, and the susceptibility to nystatin, amphotericin B, ketoconazole, and fluoconazole was also tested. Results: 4 out of 71 samples (5.6%) yielded Candida species. On analysis of variance among the groups, the intracanal isolates, mainly Genotype A, possessed a high degree of phospholipase and haemolysin activity (p < 0.05). The UAE and Finland isolates were stronger biofilm formers and had superior phospholipase production capacity compared with the salivary isolates. All isolates were sensitive to the antifungal chemicals used. The salivary isolates were more sensitive to fluoconazole compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of C. albicans in infected root canals of patients attending a dental hospital in UAE is low. The strains isolated were good biofilm formers, possessed strong phospholipase and haemolysin activity and were mostly of the genotype A. The fact that the root canal isolates possessed significant hydrolase activity, imply that they are equipped with virulence attributes necessary for survival within a harsh intracanal ecosystem.
AB - Background: There is limited data on the prevalence of Candida species in infected root canal systems of human teeth. We attempted to investigate the prevalence, genotype, virulence and the antifungal susceptibility of Candida albicans isolated from infected root canals of patients with primary and post-treatment infections in a UAE population. Methods: Microbiological samples from 71 subjects with infected root canals were aseptically collected, and cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar, and C. albicans was identified using multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and the isolates were further subtyped using ABC genotyping system. Their relative virulence was compared using further four archival samples of endodontic origin from another geographical region, and four more salivary isolates, as controls. The virulence attributes compared were biofilm formation, and production of phospholipase and haemolysin, and the susceptibility to nystatin, amphotericin B, ketoconazole, and fluoconazole was also tested. Results: 4 out of 71 samples (5.6%) yielded Candida species. On analysis of variance among the groups, the intracanal isolates, mainly Genotype A, possessed a high degree of phospholipase and haemolysin activity (p < 0.05). The UAE and Finland isolates were stronger biofilm formers and had superior phospholipase production capacity compared with the salivary isolates. All isolates were sensitive to the antifungal chemicals used. The salivary isolates were more sensitive to fluoconazole compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of C. albicans in infected root canals of patients attending a dental hospital in UAE is low. The strains isolated were good biofilm formers, possessed strong phospholipase and haemolysin activity and were mostly of the genotype A. The fact that the root canal isolates possessed significant hydrolase activity, imply that they are equipped with virulence attributes necessary for survival within a harsh intracanal ecosystem.
KW - Antifungals
KW - Biofilm formation
KW - Candida albicans
KW - Haemolysin
KW - Phospholipase
KW - Root canal infection
KW - Virulence
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U2 - 10.1186/s12903-020-01347-5
DO - 10.1186/s12903-020-01347-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 33256696
AN - SCOPUS:85096946112
SN - 1472-6831
VL - 20
JO - BMC Oral Health
JF - BMC Oral Health
IS - 1
M1 - 347
ER -