Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Effect of progesterone on candida albicans vaginal pathogenicity

Alves, Carlos Tiago, Silva, Sónia, Pereira, Leonel, Williams, David Wynne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7351-5131, Azeredo, Joana and Henriques, Mariana 2014. Effect of progesterone on candida albicans vaginal pathogenicity. International Journal of Medical Microbiology 304 (8) , pp. 1011-1017. 10.1016/j.ijmm.2014.07.004

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Candida albicans is responsible for the majority of cases of vulvovaginal candidosis (VVC), an infection which occurs mainly during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle or during the pregnancy, when levels of progesterone are elevated. One of the most important candidal virulence factors is the ability to adhere to host surfaces and form biofilms. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of progesterone on C. albicans virulence, namely biofilm formation and colonisation/invasion of a reconstituted human vaginal epithelium (RHVE). Biofilm formation on the RHVE was evaluated by enumeration of culturable cells, total mass quantification and scanning electron microscopy. The capacity of C. albicans strains to invade and colonise the tissue was examined by fluorescence microscopy using species-specific peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe hybridisation, and quantitatively evaluated by RT-PCR Candida quantification methodology. Furthermore, gene (BCR1 and HWP1) expression of biofilm and RHVE colonising cells was evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. Results confirmed that progesterone reduced the capacity of C. albicans strains to form biofilms and to colonise and invade RHVE. Additionally, it was demonstrated that progesterone decreased expression of BCR1 and HWP1, which are important virulence determinants of C. albicans. In conclusion, it was evident that progesterone can have a major influence on C. albicans pathogenicity on vaginal epithelial cells and may partly explain susceptibility of women to VVC at different stages of the menstrual cycle.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Dentistry
Publisher: Elsevier
ISSN: 1438-4221
Last Modified: 27 Oct 2022 08:28
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/62432

Citation Data

Cited 29 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item