Phospholipase, esterase and hemolytic activities of Candida spp. isolated from onychomycosis and oral lichen planus lesions.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: Candidiasis is an opportunistic fungal infection caused by many species of Candida that affects different sites of the body. Secretion of exoenzymes plays an important role in virulence and pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential role of phospholipase, esterase and hemolytic activity of Candida species isolated from onychomycosis and oral lichen planus patients in candidiasis.
METHODS: A total of 84 Candida isolates including 24 C. albicans and 46 C. parapsilosis from onychomycosis, and 14 C. albicans from oral lichen planus patients were included in our study. Egg yolk agar, Tween 80 opacity medium and blood agar plate assays were used for determining phospholipase, esterase and hemolytic activities, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using the Fischer exact test.
RESULTS: C. parapsilosis isolates had the least exoenzyme activity among the isolates (P≤0.001). C. albicans isolates from lichen planus showed less exoenzyme activity in comparison to the onychomycosis isolates. Only 16.08% of C. parapsilosis isolates had phospholipase activity. This difference between C. albicans and C. parapsilosis was statistically significant (P≤0.001). All of the C. albicans isolates from onychomycosis patients had beta hemolysin activity. There was more hemolytic activity in the C. albicans isolates when compared with C. parapsilosis and between C. albicans isolates, no significant difference was seen. All of the C. albicans isolates produced esterase enzyme on day three and no significant differences were seen between the two groups of C. albicans for esterase activity. Two strains of C. albicans had no phospholipase or esterase activity.
CONCLUSION: This study showed that most of the isolates tested had different enzymatic patterns and C. parapsilosis strains had less phospholipase activity.