Molecular characterization and antifungal susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans strains collected from a single institution in Lima, Peru / Caracterización molecular y sensibilidad antifúngica de cepas de Cryptococcus neoformans provenientes de una institución de Lima, Perú

ABSTRACT

Background: Cryptococcosis is a fungal infection with a worldwide distribution, mainly caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. Aims: To molecularly characterize the mating-types, serotypes, genotypes and antifungal susceptibility profiles of a set of retrospectively isolated C. neoformans strains from Lima, Peru. Methods: A set of 32 Cryptococcus spp. strains from the Institute of Tropical Medicine of the National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru, were included in this retrospective study. Twenty-four strains were isolated from patients, while the remaining 8 were isolated from the environment. Results: Using conventional PCR, 27 (84.4%) of the isolates were identified as C. neoformans var. grubii mating-type alpha and serotype A. Using the AFLP fingerprinting, it was shown that 16 (50%) of the C. neoformans strains were genotype AFLP1, 13 (40.6%) were genotype AFLP1B, 2 (6.3%) were genotype AFLP2, and 1 (3.1%) was found to be a hybrid between both C. neoformans varieties (genotype AFLP3). The antifungal susceptibility profiles for amphotericin B, fluconazole and voriconazole showed that all the 32 C. neoformans are sensitive to these antifungal compounds. Conclusions: In this study we observed that C. neoformans var. grubii (AFLP1 and AFLP1B) and C. neoformans var.neoformans (AFLP2) were the only cryptococcal varieties involved. All strains were found to be sensitive to the antifungals tested, results that are consistent with those found in the international literature (AU)

RESUMEN

Antecedentes La criptococosis es una infección fúngica de distribución mundial, causada principalmente porCryptococcus neoformans y Cryptococcus gattii. Objetivos: Determinar el tipo de apareamiento, los serotipos, los genotipos y la sensibilidad antifúngica de las cepas de C. neoformans provenientes de Lima Perú. Métodos: Se analizaron 32 cepas de Cryptococcus spp. del Instituto de Medicina Tropical de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos de Lima, Perú. Veinticuatro cepas provenían de pacientes y 8 cepas fueron obtenidas de muestras ambientales. Resultados: Mediante la técnica de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa se determinó que 27 (84,4%) aislamientos eran C. neoformans var. grubii, serotipo A, con el tipo de apareamiento alfa. Asimismo, empleando la técnica AFLP, se determinó que 16 (50%) cepas de C. neoformans eran del genotipo AFLP1 y 13 (40,6%) del genotipo AFLP1B; además, 2 (6,3%) eran del genotipo AFLP2 (C. neoformans var.neoformans) y 1 (3,1%) resultó ser un híbrido entre ambas variedades (AFLP3). Los perfiles de sensibilidad antifúngica para anfotericina B, fluconazol y voriconazol mostraron que las 32 cepas de C. neoformans eran sensibles al panel de antifúngicos. Conclusiones: En el presente estudio observamos que C. neoformans var. grubii (AFLP1 y AFLP1B) y C. neoformansvar. neoformans (AFLP2) fueron las variedades encontradas. Además, todas las cepas resultaron sensibles al panel de antifúngicos, en concordancia con la literatura internacional (AU)