Morphotypes of Candida albicans and their associations with underlying diseases and source of samples.
The morphotyping method was applied to differentiate a series of 276 Candida albicans strains recovered from hospitalized patients, by using a three-digit code based on the characteristics of the fringe outgrowth. By this scheme 32 different morphotypes were identified. An 86% reproducibility was achieved. The aim of this study was to investigate whether significant correlations exist between the morphotypes and: i) some underlying diseases of the patients, ii) the anatomical sources of the samples. The most striking associations were observed between fringeless strains and non-neoplastic diseases of the respiratory tract, and again between continuous filamentous fringe with parallel outgrowth and AIDS. With a significantly high frequency, samples from the genitourinary tract had a very coarse fringe texture.
Istituto di Microbiologia, Università degli Studi di Catania.
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Riviera
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MG
Bellotti
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Malighetti
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000382:microbiology