Zastosowanie techniki MSSCP do wykrycia różnic genetycznych w obrębie genu ERG11 Candida albicans wrażliwych i opornych na leki azolowe.

Background: One of the mechanisms for resistance to azole antifungal drugs used in C. albicans therapy is the contribution of overexpression and point mutations in ERG11 gene that codes 14mα-demethylase (14DM) which is the primary target for the azole class of antifungals. These mutations can cause amino acids substitutions in the enzyme and alteration of 14DM sequence may lead to a decreased affinity of the enzyme for azoles. Aim: The purpose of this study was to detect genetic differences present in collection of C. albicans isolates demonstrating resistance and sensitivity to azoles. Material and methods: C. albicans strains used in this study were isolated from clinical samples obtained from hospitalized patients. To identify such alterations ERG11 gene was investigated by MSSCP technique (Multitemperature Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism). Results and conclusions: MSSCP analysis revealed the presence of genetic differences in ERG11 gene in analysed C. albicans strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]