Virulence of Candida albicans isolated from HIV infected and non infected individuals

Candida sp contributes 33.1 % of fungal infections among HIV patients. Among the species of the genus Candida, Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated from HIV patients. This study aimed to analyze putative virulence factors of C. albicans isolated from oral cavities of HIV infected patients and healthy individuals. Twenty isolates from HIV infected patients and fourteen from healthy individuals were analyzed for phenotypic switching, cell growth rate, hyphae formation, hemolytic activity and biofilm formation characteristics. The frequency of phenotypic switching was low in both groups. The cell growth rate of C. albicans from HIV infected patients were significantly higher than those from healthy individuals (p < 0.001). After 48 h incubation, the concentration of C. albicans isolated from HIV infected patients was 8.6 x 10(6) cells/ml while the concentration of C. albicans isolated from healthy individuals was 7.8 x 10(6) cells/ml. After 72 h incubation, the concentration of C. albicans isolated from HIV infected patients was 9.5 x 10(6) cells/ml while the concentration of C. albicans isolated from healthy individuals was 8.2 x 10(6) cells/ml. In contrast, the hemolytic activity of C. albicans isolated from healthy individuals were significantly higher compared to those from HIV infected patients (p < 0.001) at both aerobic (6 vs. 3.5 mm) and anaerobic (3.8 vs. 1.3 mm) conditions. The percentages of hyphae forming cells were higher in C. albicans collected from HIV infected patients (27.5 %) compared to the healthy individual group (14.7 %). However, this trend was not statistically significant (p = 0.1). Candida albicans isolated from HIV infected patients have similar ability to develop biofilms compared to those from healthy individuals. (OR = 4.2; 95 % CI 0.724-26.559). The virulence factors of C. albicans isolated from HIV infected patients were not significantly different from those of healthy individuals. The results add new insights into the contribution of virulence factors in the pathogenesis of C. albicans infection in HIV infected patients.