12th International Conference of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Fungal infections are a public health problem especially in hospitals where Candida spp. are the main causes of invasive fungal infections. This study aimed to evaluate virulence factors, such as susceptibility, proteomics, metabolomics and gene expression of adhesins and proteases, of clinical isolates of C. albicans exposure to phagocytes and antifungals. The 1H-NMR analysis quantified 66 metabolites involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid, lipid and glucose metabolism. Strains 121 and 221-V presented the highest concentrations of trehalose, arabitol and glycerol metabolites associated with oxidative and osmotic stress response. Candida-macrophage interaction and treatments with subinhibitory antifungal concentrations showed overexpression of adhesins and proteases. The caspofungin-resistant 221-V strain overexpressed SAP2(75.85±10.69), SAP4(32.19±15.93), SAP9(6.91±0.85), SAP10(55.38±25.19), ALS3(11.81±4.60) and HWP1(41.38±8.69). Exposure to subinhibitory antifungal concentrations can increase C. albicans virulence, and it may occur in therapeutic failure due to pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic parameters, and dosing errors or time between doses. Understanding fungal pathogenesis could assist in the development of new candidiasis drugs.