Outcome of experimental rat vaginitis by Candida albicans isolates with different karyotypes

Candida albicans isolates with different genomic background, designed as b and c karyotypes, have been previously shown to differentially modulate their response to macrophage candidacidal activity While b-type isolates were susceptible to intracellular killing, strains with c karyotype survived upon internalization and were able to replicate inside macrophages Furthermore, it was also shown that c type strains escape microglial cell mediated growth inhibition, suggesting that these strains form a more virulent cluster In this report, the pathogenicity exerted by C albicans isolates with b and c karyotypes was analyzed In vivo using a model of experimental rat vagina's. Although both types induced infection, c-type-infected animals suffered from more persistent vagina's, confirming the higher virulence potential the c karyotype exerted in vivo The analysis of fungal cells recovered from vaginal fluids of infected animals indicated that c-type was more prone to undergo morphogenesis and to express SAP2 than b-type, these different traits may account for the differences observed in the outcome of experimental rodent vagina's induced by the two C albicans karyotypes (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved