Electroporation in combination with weak organic acids is suitable for the biocontrol of the skin colonizing yeasts

Abstract

Candida yeasts are commensal microorganisms that can colonize human body. Their growth is limited by the host immune system and competition with other microorganisms occupying the same locations. Candida lusitaniae is a perfect study object in the antifungal resistance analysis due to the ability to undergo phenotypic switching and form pseudohyphae structures as well as due to the rapidly acquired antifungal drug resistance during therapy (Miller et al., 2006). Phenotypic switching is induced in the yeast population by the external signals such as pH, temperature and mating related factors and is associated with rapid dissemination in host organism, colonization, adhesion to the surface and biofilm formation (Thompson et al., 2011). Increasing yeast resistance to the antifungal treatment, challenging elimination of microorganisms in biofilms by using antifungal chemicals and the arising side effects of the antifungal drugs, all promote the development of the alternative methods for the biocontrol of Candida yeasts. Weak organic acids are known chemicals containing antifungal activity that are able to release protons at low pH and induce apoptosis in Candida cells (Lastauskienė et al., 2014). During apoptosis amino acids and peptides are released into surrounding environment and can help in regeneration of the human epithelium. Electroporation or electropermeabilization is successfully used for different biomedical and biotechnological applications: electrochemotherapy, food processing, electrotherapy, electrogenetransfer and others. In this research, we combined the electroporation with two organic acids – formic and acetic. Our work shows that this combination allow reducing the concentration of the chemical compounds used in therapy as well as intensity of the electric field and is capable to eliminate both: budding cells and pseudohyphae.