Expression of ERG11, ERG3, MDR1 and CDR1 genes in Candida tropicalis

• Published in: Biomédica
• Main Authors: Ana Elisa Rojas, Leidy Yurany Cárdenas, María Camila García, Jorge Enrique Pérez
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Instituto Nacional de Salud 2023
• Subjects: candida tropicalis; drug resistance; fungal; fluconazole; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.6852; https://doaj.org/article/a116703b834b45679899ce3653cecbe0

Introduction. Drug resistance to azoles is a growing problem in the Candida genus. Objective. To analyze molecularly the genes responsible for fluconazole resistance in Candida tropicalis strains. Materials and methods. Nineteen strains, with and without exposure to fluconazole, were selected for this study. The expression of MDR1, CDR1, ERG11, and ERG3 genes was analyzed in sensitive, dose-dependent sensitive, and resistant strains exposed to different concentrations of the antifungal drug. Results. MDR1, ERG11 and ERG3 genes were significantly overexpressed in the different sensitivity groups. CDR1 gene expression was not statistically significant among the studied groups. Seven of the eight fluconazole-resistant strains showed overexpression of one or more of the analyzed genes. In some dose-dependent sensitive strains, we found overexpression of CDR1, ERG11, and ERG3. Conclusion. The frequency of overexpression of ERG11 and ERG3 genes indicates that they are related to resistance. However, the finding of dose-dependent resistant/sensitive strains without overexpression of these genes suggests that they are not exclusive to this phenomenon. More basic research is needed to study other potentially involved genes in the resistance mechanism to fluconazole.