• Arjuna N B Ellepola and Lakshman P Samaranayake.
• Department of Bioclinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
• Med Princ Pract. 2014 Jan 1; 23 (4): 307-12.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of brief and sequential exposure to nystatin on the germ tube formation and cell surface hydrophobicity of oral isolates of Candida albicans obtained from patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Materials And MethodsAfter determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of nystatin, 10 oral isolates of C. albicans from 10 different HIV-infected patients were briefly (1 h) and sequentially (10 days) exposed to subtherapeutic concentrations of nystatin. Following a subsequent drug removal, the germ tube formation and cell surface hydrophobicity of these isolates were determined via a germ tube induction assay and an aqueous hydrocarbon assay, respectively. The data obtained from these assays for the control (unexposed to nystatin) and nystatin-exposed isolates were analyzed using Student's t tests.ResultsThe mean percentage reduction in the germ tube formation and cell surface hydrophobicity of the nystatin-exposed isolates compared to the controls was 30.12 ± 1.99 (p < 0.001) and 29.65 ± 2.33 (p < 0.001), respectively.ConclusionThese data elucidate the possible pharmacodynamic mechanisms by which nystatin might operate in vivo in the modulation of candidal virulence.© 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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