Examination of Oral Candida Infection in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Patients

Summary

Here, we present a protocol for the examination of oral Candida infection in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome, which can be used for timely treatment and, thereafter, avoiding related complications.

Abstract

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by symptoms such as dry mouth, dry eyes, and other systematic symptoms. Due to the hyposalivation experienced by pSS patients, oral dysbacteriosis often occurs. A common complication of pSS is the oral Candida infection. In this article, the authors describe systematic methods that can effectively diagnose oral Candida infection and identify the Candida strains using saliva, oral mucosal swabs, or mouthwash from pSS patients. The Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar (SDA), hyphal formation assay, potassium hydroxide (KOH) smear test, and calcofluor white (CFW) staining assay are used for the diagnosis of oral Candida infection. A Candida diagnostic agar is used for the identification of Candida strains. Finally, antifungal susceptibility testing is used to determine appropriate antifungal drug treatment. This standardized method can enhance the diagnosis, treatment, and future research of pSS-related oral Candida infections. Early diagnosis, using this method, can also prevent any complications arising due to delay in receiving appropriate treatment.

Introduction

Candidiasis is caused by Candida spp., which are opportunistic pathogens. Common strains include Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida dubliniensis¹. Opportunistic infections caused by Candida spp. include superficial Candida infections and invasive candidiasis. Invasive candidiasis mainly happens in immunocompromised individuals; for example, in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), invasive candidiasis can significantly threaten the quality of life or even the life span². Superficial Candida infectio....

Protocol

All procedures described below were approved by the Ethical Committee of Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University (NO. KY2023-177-01), and all patients involved in this study provided informed consent.

1. Patient inclusion and exclusion criteria

1. Inclusion criteria: Classify patients as pSS patients if they fulfill the 2016 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria¹². Specifically, .......

Discussion

In the current manuscript, we provide a series of systematic, simple, and feasible methods for detecting oral Candida infections, identifying Candida strains, and testing the antifungal susceptibility of commonly used drugs in patients with pSS.

In practical settings, not all the methods introduced in this manuscript are necessary. The oral Candida detection method(s) can be chosen based on the specific purpose. KOH smear tests and CFW staining assays, using samples.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.22 µm Syringe Filter	MERCK	SLGV004SL
1.5 mL Centrifuge Tube	axygen	MCT-150-C-S
10 cm Microbiological Culture Dishes	Jet Bio-Filtration Co. Ltd	TCD000100
15 mL Centrifuge Tube	Jet Bio-Filtration Co., Ltd	CFT011150
50 mL Centrifuge Tube	Corning	430290
96-well Microplates	Corning	3599
API 0.85% NaCl ampule	BIOMERIEUX	20070
Calcofluor White Stain	Sigma-Aldrich	18909-100ML-F
CHROMagar Candida	CHROMagar	P002860	Candida diagnostic agar
D(+)-Glucose Monohydrate	Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co.,Ltd	10010518
Fetal Bovine Serum	Gibco	26170035
McFarland Standards Kit	BIOMERIEUX	70900
Nunc precision molded loops	ThermoFisher Scientific	254399
Phosphate Buffered Saline	Gibco	C10010500BT
Potassium Hydroxide	Aladdin	P112284-500g
PowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit	MO BIO	12888-50
RPMI 1640 Medium	Gibco	11875119
Sabourand's Agar Medium	Solarbio	S9710
Yeast Nitrogen Base Without Amino acids	Solarbio	Y8040
Yeast-like Fungal Susceptibility Kit (Microdilution)	BIOMERIEUX	14204