Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) is the most common opportunistic infection in HIV-infected patients and is considered a clinical marker of disease progression (3). A reduction in the incidence of OPC and some cases of resolution of refractory mucosal candidiasis following introduction of HIV protease inhibitor (HIV-PI) therapy have recently been reported (6, 10, 11). To switch from saprophytic ...

Morbidity and mortality have decreased significantly since the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for treating HIV-infected patients [1,2]. The decline in the incidence of oro pharyngeal candidiasis is thought to be due to immune reconstitution of the host and HIV-protease inhibitors (HIV-PIs) in HAART. HIV-PI has been shown to exert both in vivo and in vitro effects ...

The endothelial cell interactions of homozygous null mutants of Candida albicans that were deficient in secreted aspartyl proteinase 1 (Sap1), Sap2, or Sap3 were investigated. Only Sap2 was found to contribute to the ability of C. albicans to damage endothelial cells and stimulate them to express E-selectin. None of the Saps studied appears to play a role in C. albicans adherence to endothelial...

Trichosporon asahii is considered an opportunistic pathogen responsible for severe infections, mainly in immunocompromised patients. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalent genotypes among 39 clinical isolates of this microorganism by sequencing the IGS1 region and to determine the in vitro production of DNAse, hemolysin, aspartyl proteinase, phospholipase and esterase, as well...

Secreted aspartyl proteinases (Saps) are important virulence factors of Candida albicans during mucosal and disseminated infections and may also contribute to the induction of an inflammatory host immune response. We used a model of vaginal candidiasis based on reconstituted human vaginal epithelium (RHVE) to study the epithelial cytokine response induced by C. albicans. In order to study the i...

Crystals of the molecular complex between the esterified tripeptide fragment of pepstatin and the aspartyl proteinase penicillopepsin are isomorphous with crystals of native penicillopepsin. The difference electron-density map at 1.8-A resolution, computed by using the amplitude differences and refined phases of reflections from the crystal of native penicillopepsin, unambiguously showed the bi...

The widespread occurrence of vaginal candidiasis and the development of resistance against anti-fungal agents has stimulated interest in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease. The aim of our work was to characterize, in an animal model of vaginal candidiasis, the mechanisms that play a role in the induction of mucosal immunity against C. albicans and the interaction between innate and ...