This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ha, K. C.
Right arrow Articles by White, T. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ha, K. C.
Right arrow Articles by White, T. C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1999, p. 763-768, Vol. 43, No. 4
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Effects of Azole Antifungal Drugs on the Transition from Yeast Cells to Hyphae in Susceptible and Resistant Isolates of the Pathogenic Yeast Candida albicans

Kien C. Ha and Theodore C. White*

Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, and the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, Washington

Received 17 September 1998/Returned for modification 23 December 1998/Accepted 13 January 1999

Oral infections caused by the yeast Candida albicans are some of the most frequent and earliest opportunistic infections in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. The widespread use of azole antifungal drugs has led to the development of drug resistance, creating a major problem in the treatment of yeast infections in AIDS patients and other immunocompromised individuals. Several molecular mechanisms that contribute to drug resistance have been identified. In C. albicans, the ability to morphologically switch from yeast cells (blastospores) to filamentous forms (hyphae) is an important virulence factor which contributes to the dissemination of Candida in host tissues and which promotes infection and invasion. A positive correlation between the level of antifungal drug resistance and the ability to form hyphae in the presence of azole drugs has been identified. Under hypha-inducing conditions in the presence of an azole drug, resistant clinical isolates form hyphae, while susceptible yeast isolates do not. This correlation is observed in a random sample from a population of susceptible and resistant isolates and is independent of the mechanisms of resistance. 35S-methionine incorporation suggests that growth inhibition is not sufficient to explain the inhibition of hyphal formation, but it may contribute to this inhibition.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, 4 Nickerson St., Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98109-1651. Phone: (206) 284-8846, ext. 344. Fax: (206) 284-0313. E-mail: tedwhite{at}u.washington.edu.


Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1999, p. 763-768, Vol. 43, No. 4
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Song, Y., Cheon, S. A., Lee, K. E., Lee, S.-Y., Lee, B.-K., Oh, D.-B., Kang, H. A., Kim, J.-Y. (2008). Role of the RAM Network in Cell Polarity and Hyphal Morphogenesis in Candida albicans. Mol. Biol. Cell 19: 5456-5477 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chau, A. S., Gurnani, M., Hawkinson, R., Laverdiere, M., Cacciapuoti, A., McNicholas, P. M. (2005). Inactivation of Sterol {Delta}5,6-Desaturase Attenuates Virulence in Candida albicans. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49: 3646-3651 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dumitru, R., Hornby, J. M., Nickerson, K. W. (2004). Defined Anaerobic Growth Medium for Studying Candida albicans Basic Biology and Resistance to Eight Antifungal Drugs. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 48: 2350-2354 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hornby, J. M., Nickerson, K. W. (2004). Enhanced Production of Farnesol by Candida albicans Treated with Four Azoles. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 48: 2305-2307 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dieterich, C., Schandar, M., Noll, M., Johannes, F.-J., Brunner, H., Graeve, T., Rupp, S. (2002). In vitro reconstructed human epithelia reveal contributions of Candida albicans EFG1 and CPH1 to adhesion and invasion. Microbiology 148: 497-506 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • KONTOYIANNIS, D. P., TARRAND, J., PRINCE, R., SAMONIS, G., ROLSTON, K. V. R. (2001). Effect of fluconazole on agar invasion by Candida albicans. J Med Microbiol 50: 78-82 [Abstract] [Full Text]