This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by van Deventer, A. J. Articles by Verbrugh, H. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by van Deventer, A. J. Articles by Verbrugh, H. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 03 1995, 625-628, Vol 33, No. 3
Copyright © 1995 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Improved detection of Candida albicans by PCR in blood of neutropenic mice with systemic candidiasis

AJ van Deventer, WH Goessens, A van Belkum, HJ van Vliet, EW van Etten and HA Verbrugh
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Therapy, Erasmus University School of Medicine, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

A PCR using primers aimed at the multicopy gene coding for the small subunit rRNA and resulting in the synthesis of a 180-bp fragment was evaluated for its use in diagnosing invasive candidiasis in comparison with blood culture. With the use of a C. albicans-specific probe, +/- 10 to 15 C. albicans cells are detected in 100 microliters of whole blood by Southern analysis. A DNase pretreatment was critical in the purification process of yeast DNA from whole blood. Omission of the DNase pretreatment decreased assay sensitivity 10-fold. PCR analysis of blood specimens collected from mice with invasive candidiasis is more sensitive than blood culture (100 versus 67%, respectively) at 72 h after intravenous (i.v.) inoculation with C. albicans. Furthermore, the intensity of the hybridization signals increased with the progression of infection. In contrast, multiple blood samples from gastrointestinally colonized mice were all negative by PCR, indicating that the PCR assay is also specific and may, therefore, make a positive contribution to the detection and follow-up of invasive candidiasis.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Pisa, D., Ramos, M., Molina, S., Garcia, P., Carrasco, L. (2007). Evolution of antibody response and fungal antigens in the serum of a patient infected with Candida famata. J Med Microbiol 56: 571-578 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kaufman, D., Fairchild, K. D. (2004). Clinical Microbiology of Bacterial and Fungal Sepsis in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 17: 638-680 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Yeo, S. F., Wong, B. (2002). Current Status of Nonculture Methods for Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 15: 465-484 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ahmad, S., Khan, Z., Mustafa, A. S., Khan, Z. U. (2002). Seminested PCR for Diagnosis of Candidemia: Comparison with Culture, Antigen Detection, and Biochemical Methods for Species Identification. J. Clin. Microbiol. 40: 2483-2489 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Guiver, M, Levi, K, Oppenheim, B A (2001). Rapid identification of candida species by TaqMan PCR. J. Clin. Pathol. 54: 362-366 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bialek, R., Fischer, J., Feucht, A., Najvar, L. K., Dietz, K., Knobloch, J., Graybill, J. R. (2001). Diagnosis and Monitoring of Murine Histoplasmosis by a Nested PCR Assay. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 1506-1509 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Loeffler, J., Hebart, H., Cox, P., Flues, N., Schumacher, U., Einsele, H. (2001). Nucleic Acid Sequence-Based Amplification of Aspergillus RNA in Blood Samples. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39: 1626-1629 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Becker, M. J., de Marie, S., Willemse, D., Verbrugh, H. A., Bakker-Woudenberg, I. A. J. M. (2000). Quantitative Galactomannan Detection Is Superior to PCR in Diagnosing and Monitoring Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in an Experimental Rat Model. J. Clin. Microbiol. 38: 1434-1438 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ahmed, A. O. A., Mukhtar, M. M., Kools-Sijmons, M., Fahal, A. H., de Hoog, S., van den Ende, B. G., Zijlstra, E. E., Verbrugh, H., Abugroun, E. S. A. M., Elhassan, A. M., van Belkum, A. (1999). Development of a Species-Specific PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis Procedure for Identification of Madurella mycetomatis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 3175-3178 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Morace, G., Pagano, L., Sanguinetti, M., Posteraro, B., Mele, L., Equitani, F., D'Amore, G., Leone, G., Fadda, G. (1999). PCR-Restriction Enzyme Analysis for Detection of Candida DNA in Blood from Febrile Patients with Hematological Malignancies. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 1871-1875 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Sugita, T., Nishikawa, A., Ikeda, R., Shinoda, T. (1999). Identification of Medically Relevant Trichosporon Species Based on Sequences of Internal Transcribed Spacer Regions and Construction of a Database for Trichosporon Identification. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 1985-1993 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Bougnoux, M.-E., Dupont, C., Mateo, J., Saulnier, P., Faivre, V., Payen, D., Nicolas-Chanoine, M.-H. (1999). Serum Is More Suitable than Whole Blood for Diagnosis of Systemic Candidiasis by Nested PCR. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 925-930 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rimek, D., Garg, A. P., Haas, W. H., Kappe, R. (1999). Identification of Contaminating Fungal DNA Sequences in Zymolyase. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37: 830-831 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Sugita, T., Nishikawa, A., Shinoda, T. (1998). Identification of Trichosporon asahii by PCR Based on Sequences of the Internal Transcribed Spacer Regions. J. Clin. Microbiol. 36: 2742-2744 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Van Burik, J.-A., Myerson, D., Schreckhise, R. W., Bowden, R. A. (1998). Panfungal PCR Assay for Detection of Fungal Infection in Human Blood Specimens. J. Clin. Microbiol. 36: 1169-1175 [Abstract] [Full Text]