RESEARCH ARTICLE


The Susceptibility of Candida albicans to Gamma-Radiations and Ketoco-nazole Depends on Transitional Filamentation



Simone Cagnacci*, 1, Rachele Grasso2, Anna Marchese1, Renzo Corvò2, Eugenio Debbia1, Lorenzo Rossi1
1 Institute of Microbiology “C.A Romanzi”, Department DISCAT, University of Genoa, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy
2 Department of Radiotherapy, National Cancer Institute of Genoa and University of Genoa, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy


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Creative Commons License
© Cagnacci et al.; Licensee Bentham Open

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Institute of Microbiology “C.A Romanzi”, Department DISCAT, University of Genoa, Largo Rosanna Benzi, 10, 16132, Genoa, Italy; Tel: +39-010-353-7655; Fax: +39-010-353-7651; E-mail: simone.cagnacci@unige.it


Abstract

The virulence of C. albicans is associated with the transitional evolution from yeast to filamentous forms. We were interested in the effects amphotericin B (AMB), ketoconazole (KTC) and γ-radiations might have on these broadly defined phenotypes as determined by the CFU procedure. By using collagen gel as the 3-dimensional support of cell culture, diverse experimental conditions were contemplated in order to modulate the differentiation of Candida during sessile and planktonic growth. These conditions included the co-culture with human epithelial and endothelial cells and treatment with farnesol, tyrosol and conditioned medium from P. aeruginosa. The overall results were as follows: 1) The survival of Candida was inhibited by the exposure to γ-radiations, but only after the organism was induced to progress into excess filamentation, while in normal growth conditions it proved to be radioresistant; 2) AMB inhibited the growth of yeast forms, while KTC was specifically toxic to filamentous forms and 3) the combined treatment of filamentous Candida with KTC and γ-radiations resulted in the synergistic inhibition of the organism. These findings indicate that both the radiosensitivity of C. albicans and its response to the synergistic effects of γ-radiations and KTC are filamentation-dependent pharmacological processes.