Abstract:
Following the widespread use of immunosuppressive therapy together with broadspectrum
antimycotic therapy, the frequency of mucosal and systemic infections caused
by the pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata has increased in the past decades. Due to the
resistance of C. glabrata to existing azole drugs, it is very important to look for new
strategies helping the treatment of such fungal diseases. In this study, we investigated
the effect of the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii (nom. nud.) on C. glabrata
adhesion at different temperatures, pH values, and in the presence of fluconazole, itraconazole
and amphotericin B.We also studied the adhesion of C. glabrata co-culture with
Candida krusei, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, two bacterial probiotics Lactobacillus rhamnosus
and Lactobacillus casei. The method used to assess adhesion was crystal violet
staining. Our results showed that despite the nonadhesiveness of S. boulardii cells, this
probiotic significantly affected the adherence ability of C. glabrata. This effect was highly
dependent on C. glabrata strain and was either antagonistic or synergistic. Regarding
the extrinsic factors, temperature did not indicate any significant influence on this S.
boulardii modulatory effect, while at high pH and at increased concentrations of antimycotics,
S. boulardii did not manage to repress the adhesion of C. glabrata strains. The
experiments of C. glabrata co-cultures with other species showed that the adhesiveness
of two separate cultures could not be used to predict the adhesiveness of their co-culture.
