Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>
ABSTRACT The facultative anaerobic polymorphic fungus Candida albicans and the strictly anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium difficile are two opportunistic pathogens residing in the human gut. While a few studies have focused on the prevalence of C. albicans in C. difficile-infected patien...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Society for Microbiology
2016-12-01
|
| Series: | mSphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSphere.00187-16 |
| _version_ | 1819260494241857536 |
|---|---|
| author | Pim T. van Leeuwen Jasper M. van der Peet Floris J. Bikker Michel A. Hoogenkamp Ana M. Oliveira Paiva Sarantos Kostidis Oleg A. Mayboroda Wiep Klaas Smits Bastiaan P. Krom |
| author_facet | Pim T. van Leeuwen Jasper M. van der Peet Floris J. Bikker Michel A. Hoogenkamp Ana M. Oliveira Paiva Sarantos Kostidis Oleg A. Mayboroda Wiep Klaas Smits Bastiaan P. Krom |
| author_sort | Pim T. van Leeuwen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT The facultative anaerobic polymorphic fungus Candida albicans and the strictly anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium difficile are two opportunistic pathogens residing in the human gut. While a few studies have focused on the prevalence of C. albicans in C. difficile-infected patients, the nature of the interactions between these two microbes has not been studied thus far. In the current study, both chemical and physical interactions between C. albicans and C. difficile were investigated. In the presence of C. albicans, C. difficile was able to grow under aerobic, normally toxic, conditions. This phenomenon was neither linked to adherence of bacteria to hyphae nor to biofilm formation by C. albicans. Conditioned medium of C. difficile inhibited hyphal growth of C. albicans, which is an important virulence factor of the fungus. In addition, it induced hypha-to-yeast conversion. p-Cresol, a fermentation product of tyrosine produced by C. difficile, also induced morphological effects and was identified as an active component of the conditioned medium. This study shows that in the presence of C. albicans, C. difficile can persist and grow under aerobic conditions. Furthermore, p-cresol, produced by C. difficile, is involved in inhibiting hypha formation of C. albicans, directly affecting the biofilm formation and virulence of C. albicans. This study is the first detailed characterization of the interactions between these two gut pathogens. IMPORTANCE Candida albicans and Clostridium difficile are two opportunistic pathogens that reside in the human gut. A few studies have focused on the prevalence of C. albicans in C. difficile-infected patients, but none have shown the interaction(s) that these two organisms may or may not have with each other. In this study, we used a wide range of different techniques to better understand this interaction at a macroscopic and microscopic level. We found that in the presence of C. albicans, C. difficile can survive under ambient aerobic conditions, which would otherwise be toxic. We also found that C. difficile affects the hypha formation of C. albicans, most likely through the excretion of p-cresol. This ultimately leads to an inability of C. albicans to form a biofilm. Our study provides new insights into interactions between C. albicans and C. difficile and bears relevance to both fungal and bacterial disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T19:26:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-303c382b18454d098f572ceefc19d4c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2379-5042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T19:26:48Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | mSphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-303c382b18454d098f572ceefc19d4c12022-12-21T17:34:01ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologymSphere2379-50422016-12-011610.1128/mSphere.00187-16Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>Pim T. van Leeuwen0Jasper M. van der Peet1Floris J. Bikker2Michel A. Hoogenkamp3Ana M. Oliveira Paiva4Sarantos Kostidis5Oleg A. Mayboroda6Wiep Klaas Smits7Bastiaan P. Krom8Department of Preventive Dentistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Free University of Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Preventive Dentistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Free University of Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Oral Biochemistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Free University of Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Preventive Dentistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Free University of Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The NetherlandsCenter for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The NetherlandsCenter for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The NetherlandsDepartment of Preventive Dentistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Free University of Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsABSTRACT The facultative anaerobic polymorphic fungus Candida albicans and the strictly anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium difficile are two opportunistic pathogens residing in the human gut. While a few studies have focused on the prevalence of C. albicans in C. difficile-infected patients, the nature of the interactions between these two microbes has not been studied thus far. In the current study, both chemical and physical interactions between C. albicans and C. difficile were investigated. In the presence of C. albicans, C. difficile was able to grow under aerobic, normally toxic, conditions. This phenomenon was neither linked to adherence of bacteria to hyphae nor to biofilm formation by C. albicans. Conditioned medium of C. difficile inhibited hyphal growth of C. albicans, which is an important virulence factor of the fungus. In addition, it induced hypha-to-yeast conversion. p-Cresol, a fermentation product of tyrosine produced by C. difficile, also induced morphological effects and was identified as an active component of the conditioned medium. This study shows that in the presence of C. albicans, C. difficile can persist and grow under aerobic conditions. Furthermore, p-cresol, produced by C. difficile, is involved in inhibiting hypha formation of C. albicans, directly affecting the biofilm formation and virulence of C. albicans. This study is the first detailed characterization of the interactions between these two gut pathogens. IMPORTANCE Candida albicans and Clostridium difficile are two opportunistic pathogens that reside in the human gut. A few studies have focused on the prevalence of C. albicans in C. difficile-infected patients, but none have shown the interaction(s) that these two organisms may or may not have with each other. In this study, we used a wide range of different techniques to better understand this interaction at a macroscopic and microscopic level. We found that in the presence of C. albicans, C. difficile can survive under ambient aerobic conditions, which would otherwise be toxic. We also found that C. difficile affects the hypha formation of C. albicans, most likely through the excretion of p-cresol. This ultimately leads to an inability of C. albicans to form a biofilm. Our study provides new insights into interactions between C. albicans and C. difficile and bears relevance to both fungal and bacterial disease.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSphere.00187-16Candida albicansClostridium difficileinterspecies interactions |
| spellingShingle | Pim T. van Leeuwen Jasper M. van der Peet Floris J. Bikker Michel A. Hoogenkamp Ana M. Oliveira Paiva Sarantos Kostidis Oleg A. Mayboroda Wiep Klaas Smits Bastiaan P. Krom Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content> mSphere Candida albicans Clostridium difficile interspecies interactions |
| title | Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content> |
| title_full | Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content> |
| title_fullStr | Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content> |
| title_short | Interspecies Interactions between <named-content content-type="genus-species">Clostridium difficile</named-content> and <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content> |
| title_sort | interspecies interactions between named content content type genus species clostridium difficile named content and named content content type genus species candida albicans named content |
| topic | Candida albicans Clostridium difficile interspecies interactions |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSphere.00187-16 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pimtvanleeuwen interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT jaspermvanderpeet interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT florisjbikker interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT michelahoogenkamp interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT anamoliveirapaiva interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT sarantoskostidis interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT olegamayboroda interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT wiepklaassmits interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent AT bastiaanpkrom interspeciesinteractionsbetweennamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciesclostridiumdifficilenamedcontentandnamedcontentcontenttypegenusspeciescandidaalbicansnamedcontent |