Biochemical phenotypes of Candida albicans isolated from the upper respiratory tract of patients with chronic hepatitis C

The aim of this paper was to analyse the biochemical phenotypes of Candida albicans colonising the upper respiratory tract in 100 patients with chronic hepatitis C from group I (without antiviral therapy) and from group II (treated with peginterferon and ribavirin). The ability of the assimilation of carbon from various substrates (assimilation phenotypes) or activity of hydrolytic enzymes (biotypes) of 61 C. albicans isolates were estimated using API 20 C AUX and API ZYM microtests, respectively. Among 30 isolates of C. albicans from the group I, seven assimilation phenotypes and six biotypes were determined, while among 31 isolates from the group II - eleven assimilation phenotypes and five biotypes. The most frequently isolated assimilation phenotype in both groups of patients with API numerical profile of 2576174 comprised about 50%-70% of all phenotypes. The predominant biotype E belonging to the classification of Williamson comprised about 39%-50% of all biotypes. Our results and those from the literature suggest that C. albicans biotypes but not assimilation phenotypes may be related with some diseases. However, this requires further detailed studies.