A New Phenotype in Candida-Epithelial Cell Interaction Distinguishes Colonization- versus Vulvovaginal Candidiasis-Associated Strains.

ABSTRACT: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) affects nearly 3/4 of women during their lifetime, and its symptoms seriously reduce quality of life. Although Candida albicans is a common commensal, it is unknown if VVC results from a switch from a commensal to pathogenic state, if only some strains can cause VVC, and/or if there is displacement of commensal strains with more pathogenic strains. We studied a set of VVC and colonizing C. albicans strains to identify consistent in vitro phenotypes associated with one group or the other. We find that the strains do not differ in overall genetic profile or behavior in culture media (i.e., multilocus sequence type [MLST] profile, rate of growth, and filamentation), but they show strikingly different behaviors during their interactions with vaginal epithe

SUBMITTER: Sala A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10128025 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature