HPLC-MS identification and expression of Candida drug-resistance proteins from African HIV-infected patients

Abstract

<abstract> <p>The objective of this study was to elucidate the proteomic mechanisms of drug resistance in HIV-infected African patients. Cell membrane fractions from forty oral <italic>Candida</italic> isolates isolated from African HIV-positive patients were analysed using HPLC-MS with the aim of identifying proteins associated with their pathogenicity and drug resistance. Heat shock proteins that mediate the fungicidal activity of salivary peptides were found in all tested <italic>Candida</italic> fractions, with pH-responsive proteins associated with increased pathogenicity only being present in the three most commonly isolated species. ABC multidrug transporter efflux pumps and estrogen binding proteins were only found in <italic>C. albicans</italic> fractions, while ergosterol biosynthesis proteins were identified in four species. The combination of various adherence, invasion, upregulation and efflux pump mechanisms appear to be instrumental for the <italic>Candida</italic> host colonization and drug resistance emergence in HIV-infected individuals.</p> </abstract>