Grant: Project Grant

Candidemia is a bloodstream infection caused by Candida species. Although several species of Candida have been reported to cause this fungal infection, C albicans is the most common species in most cases. C albicans is a commensal fungus of the human microbiome mostly found in the oral cavity and in gastrointestinal and vulvovaginal tracts. However, alterations in the immunity system that cause inability to control colonizing C albicans on mucosal surfaces can lead to severe infections, including disseminated Candidemia. Despite progress in antifungal therapy, Candidemia represents one of the most common forms of nosocomial infection worldwide. It is associated with prolonged hospital stays and elevated healthcare costs. Moreover, it has an estimated mortality rate that often exceeds 50%, even with the use of antifungal drugs. Candidemia is very difficult to diagnose early in its presentation because its clinical symptoms are nonspecific and highly similar to other types of microbial infections. Currently the isolation of C albicans from blood cultures is the standard method for the diagnosis of Candidemia. However, it takes several days to obtain conclusive results and studies have shown that numerous autopsy-proven cases of Candidemia were reported as negative in blood cultures. Thus, the capacity to promptly and efficiently detect Candidemia is highly needed. Because iron (Fe) is essential for life, C albicans must be able to acquire enough of it to successfully grow and propagate inside the host. C albicans acquires Fe by different strategies, including a heme-iron uptake system. This system promotes Fe acquisition from heme and hemoglobin through specialized cell surface proteins that are highly expressed when the pathogen invades the bloodstream of patients. The goal of this research is to use these heme-receptors as serodiagnostic antigens for diagnosis of Candidemia, improving the therapeutic decision-making process and the outcome of antifungal therapy.