The effects of essential oil on Candida albicans biofilms development
| Autor: | Kuei-Chin Chuang, 莊桂琴 |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2007 |
| Druh dokumentu: | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Popis: | 95 Candida albicans is a commensal fungus as well as an opportunistic pathogen in human hosts. A striking feature of C. albicans is its ability to grow in several morphological forms. Three morphologies can exist as yeast forms, pseudohyphae, and hyphae during Candida biofilms development. C. albicans adheres to implanted medical devices, such as central venous catheters and urinary catheters, and forms a complicated community of microorganisms, called biofilms. Drug resistance can also result from biofilms formation. To take out the medical devices and remove the biofilms is dangerous for the patients. It is the reason why biofilms formation has a great impact on the clinical medicine. There are many compounds in a plant essential oil. Some essential oils can inhibit biofilms formation by interfering the quorum sensing of microorganisms. The aim of this research is to find the mechanisms against Candida biofilms with plant essential oil. The major characteristic in the early stage of Candida biofilms development on polystyrene is hyphae formation. The essential oil used in this research specifically inhibits Candida biofilms in the early stage of development. There are three major components in the essential oil. Some of which are active compounds to disrupt hyphal formation and then destroy the biofilms structures. Consideration to the close relationship between cell surface proteins and hyphal formation, the gene expressions of several cell surface proteins were investigated by real time RT-PCR. The gene expression of the hyphae-specific cell wall protein, ALS3, is reduced by essential oil and active compounds. Active compounds and essential oil inhibit hyphal formation and disrupt biofilms structures probably by reducing ALS3 gene expression. In the other hand, the transcription of ALS1 was promoted during the treatment of essential oil and active compounds. According the results, I presumed that C. albicans increase the expression of ALS1 to compensate ALS3 deprivation with Bcr1p, an important transcription factor for biofilms development. |
| Databáze: | Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations |
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