title: The role of Candida albicans in the severity of multiple sclerosis.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare the specific activity of proteinase A in Candida albicans (C. albicans) between multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and controls. A total of 135 and 100 C. albicans strains were isolated from superficial surfaces of MS patients and healthy controls. Analytical models (regression and neural network) were applied to predict the severity of MS considering specific enzyme activity (SEA) and other factors which affect the expanded disability status scale (EDSS). The SEA of C. albicans in MS patients (3466.95 ± 277.25 μmol min-1mg-1) was significantly more than that of healthy controls (1108.98 ± 294.51 μmol min-1mg-1) that was confirmed by regression model (P < 0.001). The SEA had a positive correlation with the severity of MS (P < 0.001, r = 0.65). Analytical models showed that SEA played the most important role (among all included factors that affect on EDSS) in the severity of MS. The SEA of C. albicans in MS patients was significantly more than the healthy controls. The results suggest that the level of SEA of proteinase A and probably the capacity of C. albicans isolates to invade the host tissue is associated with the severity of MS.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, Iranian Center of Neurological Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahla Amri
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Saroukolaei
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, Iranian Center of Neurological Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mojdeh.ghabaee@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mojdeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghabaee
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Amol University of Special Modern Technologies, Amol, Iran.
authors.forename: Hojjatollah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shokri
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badiei
authors.affiliation: Medical Internship, Students' Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shadi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghourchian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009262:Nails / Q000382:microbiology; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C022442:aspergillopepsin II
keywords: 
  Candida albicans
  ; Multiple sclerosis; expanded disability status scale; subtypes