In vitro and in vivo Characterization of Host–Pathogen Interactions of the L3881 Candida albicans Clinical Isolate

Abstract

Candida albicansis a human commensal fungus and the etiologic agent of nosocomial infections in immunocompromised individuals.Candidaspp. is the most studied human fungal pathogen, and the mechanisms by which this fungus can evade the immune system affecting immunosuppressed individuals have been extensively studied. Most of these studies focus on different species ofCandida, and there is much to be understood in virulence variability among lineages, specifically differentC. albicansclinical isolates. To better understand the main mechanisms of its virulence variability modulated inC. albicansclinical isolates, we characterized L3881 lineage, which has been previously classified as hypovirulent, and SC5314 lineage, a virulent wild-type control, by using bothin vitroandin vivoassays. Our findings demonstrated that L3881 presented higher capacity to avoid macrophage phagocytosis and higher resistance to oxidative stress than the wild type. These characteristics prevented higher mortality rates for L3881 in the animal model of candidiasis. Conversely, L3881 has been able to induce an upregulation of pro-inflammatory mediators bothin vitroandin vivo. These results indicated thatin vitroandin vivofunctional characterizations are necessary for determination of virulence in different clinical isolates due to its modulation in the host–pathogen interactions.