Rapid PCR method for detecting Candida albicans using primers derived from the integrin-like protein gene αINT1 of Candida albicans

Oligonucleotide primers amplifying a 344 bp fragment on the integrin-like protein alpha-INT1p gene (αIAT1) of Candida albicans were synthesized for screening of C. albicans from clinicalsamples by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR specifically amplified DNA from C. albicans and none from any other Candida, fungal, or human DNA in standard strains used here. The PCR assay showed that the primers (LH1 and LH2) were specific for 26 isolates of C. albicans from clinical samples, whereas the positive fragment, 344 bp, was not amplified from 15 clinical isolates including 14 other medically important Candida species and an isolate of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PCR was conducted on the urine samples of 20 patients and 4 samples were C. albicans positive. The detection limit of the PCR assay for C. albicans was shown to be approximately 10 cells/ml saline. The PCR system using 344 bp αINT1 as a target is more specific and rapid than the conventional culture method, and the sensitive detection method is applicable to clinical diagnosis of C. albicans infections.