Phenotypic evaluation of the effect of anaerobiosis on some virulence attributes of Candida albicans

1 Laboratory of Stomatology, Faculty of Dentistry, Biological and Health Sciences Centre, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Rua Imaculada Conceição 1155, Curitiba PR 80215-901, Brazil 2 Oral Biosciences Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, Prince Philip Dental Hospital, University of Hong Kong, 34 Hospital Road, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong SAR 3 Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba, State University of Campinas, Avenida Limeira 901, Piracicaba SP 13414-903, Brazil Correspondence Edvaldo Antonio Ribeiro Rosa edvaldo.rosa{at}pucpr.br Received 7 February 2008 Accepted 4 June 2008 The current assumption that Candida albicans is a facultatively anaerobic organism has been widely accepted since its recovery from anoxic sites became common. However, the link between anaerobiosis and virulence remains uncertain. This study investigated the differential cell-surface hydrophobicity (CSH) using a hydrocarbon/water partition technique and analysed the differential secretion rates of secretory aspartyl proteases (Saps), esterase, chondroitinase and haemolysins of C. albicans strains recovered from periodontal pockets and non-periodontium-related intra-oral sites. For the enzymic tests, all strains from both sets were grown under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and the harvested cells were inoculated onto suitable normal or pre-reduced culture media in the presence or absence of molecular oxygen, respectively. The results showed that no variations were perceptible for CSH and chondroitinase ( P >0.05). The secretion rates of esterase and haemolysins strongly decreased in an anoxic environment ( P