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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2004, p. 4726-4734, Vol. 42, No. 10
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.10.4726-4734.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Differential Expression of Secretory Aspartyl Proteinase Genes (SAP1-10) in Oral Candida albicans Isolates with Distinct Karyotypes

Arianna Tavanti,^1, Giacomo Pardini,¹ Daniele Campa,² Paola Davini,¹ Antonella Lupetti,¹ and Sonia Senesi^1*

Dipartimento di Patologia Sperimentale, Biotecnologie Mediche, Infettivologia ed Epidemiologia, Sezione di Microbiologia e Virologia,¹ Dipartimento dell'Uomo e dell'Ambiente, Sezione di Genetica, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy²

Received 29 March 2004/ Returned for modification 21 April 2004/ Accepted 10 June 2004

Two karyotypes of oral Candida albicans isolates, named b and c, constituted >80% of a collection from healthy carriers (22 b and 16 c isolates) and oral candidiasis patients who were either infected (31 b and 16 c isolates) or uninfected (13 b and 38 c isolates) with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The prevalence of the b and c karyotypes within HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients, respectively, who were suffering from oral candidiasis (P 0.0001) suggested that these two types possessed different virulence potentials. Since C. albicans proteinases (Saps) are virulence factors in oral candidiasis, we evaluated whether the b and c karyotypes secreted different levels of Saps and expressed different patterns of Sap-encoding genes (SAP1-10). We found that the mean value of Sap activity was significantly lower (P = 0.003) in the commensal type than in the infectious b karyotype, whereas Sap activity in the commensal c type was as high as that registered for the infectious c strains. Marked differences in SAP mRNA expression were observed in commensal strains under non-Sap-inducing conditions, with all SAP genes being expressed only by strains with the c karyotype; interestingly, none of the commensal b strains expressed SAP2. In addition, while all of the SAP1-10 genes were detectable under Sap-inducing conditions, the timing of their expression during growth differed significantly, with mRNAs of SAP1-10 genes detected at 8 and 24 h postinoculation in c and b commensal strains, respectively. This provides the first evidence that commensal oral C. albicans isolates with distinct karyotypes are characterized by different patterns of SAP1-10 gene expression and different levels of Sap secretion.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dipartimento di Patologia Sperimentale, Biotecnologie Mediche, Infettivologia ed Epidemiologia, Sezione di Microbiologia e Virologia, Università di Pisa, Via S. Zeno 37-39, 56127 Pisa, Italy. Phone: (39) 050 2213695. Fax: (39) 050 2213711. E-mail: senesi{at}biomed.unipi.it.

Present address: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2004, p. 4726-4734, Vol. 42, No. 10
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.10.4726-4734.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.