Resistance to Azoles in Candida parapsilosis Isolates from Spain Is Associated with an Impairment in Filamentation and Biofilm Formation

In recent years, there has been an increase in the incidence of fluconazole-non-susceptible (FNS) <i>Candida parapsilosis</i>. The reasons why these strains are able to colonize hospitals remain unknown. It is also unclear whether these strains exhibit resistance to the disinfectants used in hospitals, facilitating their spread. For these reasons, in this work, we aimed to investigate whether fluconazole resistance was associated with virulence traits and the resistance of these strains to common hospital disinfectants. The general conclusion of the study was that more than 95% of the FNS strains, regardless of the resistance mutation they carried, had filamentation problems, whereas around 75% of the susceptible strains formed pseudohyphae and were capable of filamentation. This 95% of the FNS strains did not form pseudohyphae, did not invade agar, and did not form biofilms, while the susceptible strains exhibited the opposite behaviour. Through microfluidics experiments, we observed that both the susceptible and FNS strains were capable of adhering to a plastic surface under dynamic conditions, but the FNS strains formed unstable aggregates that did not remain attached to the surface, confirming the filamentation defect of these strains. In the second part of the study, we observed that FNS strains are susceptible to clinical disinfectants, although they presented a slight resistance to some of them, such as chlorhexidine, compared to susceptible isolates. In this work, we address important aspects to understand the dissemination of FNS strains in clinical outbreaks.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Fungi
Published
2025-04-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11040299
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.40

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Resistance to Azoles in Candida parapsilosis Isolates from Spain Is Associated with an Impairment in Filamentation and Biofilm Formation

Óscar Zaragoza, Daniel Romero-Herrero, María Pía Roiz Mesones, Juliana Manosalva et al.
1 citations
Journal of Fungi
Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
1.40
article

Resistance to Azoles in Candida parapsilosis Isolates from Spain Is Associated with an Impairment in Filamentation and Biofilm Formation

Óscar Zaragoza, Daniel Romero-Herrero, María Pía Roiz Mesones, Juliana Manosalva, Maite Ruíz-Pérez de Pipaón, Gregoria Megías‐Lobón, Cristina de Armentia, Laura Alcázar‐Fuoli, Marta López-Lomba, Fernando González‐Romo, Carmen Ardanuy, María Muñoz‐Algarra, Alejandra Roldán, Paloma Merino Amador, Diego Megı́as, Alba Torres-Cano, Mireia Puig‐Asensio, María Ángeles Mantecón-Vallejo, Isabel Lara-Plaza, María Teresa Durán-Valle, Marı́a Gómez, Ana Pérez‐Ayala, Isabel Sánchez‐Romero, Elena López‐Peralta
article en
1 citations

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increase in the incidence of fluconazole-non-susceptible (FNS) <i>Candida parapsilosis</i>. The reasons why these strains are able to colonize hospitals remain unknown. It is also unclear whether these strains exhibit resistance to the disinfectants used in hospitals, facilitating their spread. For these reasons, in this work, we aimed to investigate whether fluconazole resistance was associated with virulence traits and the resistance of these strains to common hospital disinfectants. The general conclusion of the study was that more than 95% of the FNS strains, regardless of the resistance mutation they carried, had filamentation problems, whereas around 75% of the susceptible strains formed pseudohyphae and were capable of filamentation. This 95% of the FNS strains did not form pseudohyphae, did not invade agar, and did not form biofilms, while the susceptible strains exhibited the opposite behaviour. Through microfluidics experiments, we observed that both the susceptible and FNS strains were capable of adhering to a plastic surface under dynamic conditions, but the FNS strains formed unstable aggregates that did not remain attached to the surface, confirming the filamentation defect of these strains. In the second part of the study, we observed that FNS strains are susceptible to clinical disinfectants, although they presented a slight resistance to some of them, such as chlorhexidine, compared to susceptible isolates. In this work, we address important aspects to understand the dissemination of FNS strains in clinical outbreaks.

Journal of FungiVol. 11(4)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES), Bellvitge University Hospital (ES), Hospital Clínico San Carlos (ES), Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre (ES), Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge (ES), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Clínico San Carlos (ES), Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital (ES), Centro Nacional de Microbiologia (ES), Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda (ES), Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (ES), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (ES), Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (ES), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío (ES), Hospital Universitario de Móstoles (ES), Universidad de Burgos (ES)
Gilead Sciences, Comunidad de Madrid, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
1.40
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.