ESTUDIO DE LA ACTIVIDAD ENZIMÁTICA DE HEMOLISINA Y FOSFOLIPASAS DE CANDIDA SPP, EN AISLADOS CLÍNICOS DE PACIENTES QUE ACUDEN AL LABORATORIO COCAMED

Abstract

Microorganisms belonging to the Candida genus have evolved and over time have developed mechanisms of entry, persistence and pathogenicity to remain in the host, invade it and cause infection. There are several factors that favor pathogenicity by directly contributing to virulence, such as hemolysin and phospholipase activities. This work focused on determining the hemolysin and phospholipase activity of Candida spp, in clinical isolates from patients who come to the Cocamed clinical laboratory. The study is cross-sectional and descriptive, in which Candidas were identified by manual methods using chromogenic agar and automated methods such as Vitek, the hemolysin and phospholipase activity of Candidas was studied through specific plate media based on egg yolk and the other with lamb blood. In the results obtained from the Candida spp isolates, Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida were identified. Regarding phospholipase activity, C. albicans cultures had high and very high activity, and the remaining low/null activity, while non-albicans cultures had high and very high activity, and the remaining low/null activity. In Hemolysin, C. albicans cultures showed very high, high, low and very low/null activity. Non-albicans cultures, in terms of their different species, had variability in their activity. In conclusion, the identification of C. albicans and non-albicans was successfully carried out using the CHROMagar and Vitek 2 methods, with consistent results and no significant differences between both methods. The activity of phospholipases and hemolysin varied between the identified species, being mostly high or very high in C. albicans cultures, while in non-albicans this activity showed greater variability.