Effect of parenteral antibiotic administration on establishment of intestinal colonization by Candida glabrata in adult mice

Abstract

We examined the effect of antibiotic treatment on establishment of intestinal colonization by Candida glabrata in adult mice. Subcutaneous ceftriaxone, piperacillin-tazobactam, clindamycin, and metronidazole promoted increased density of stool colonization, whereas cefepime, levofloxacin, and aztreonam did not. These findings suggest that antibiotics that inhibit intestinal anaerobes promote C. glabrata colonization.

FIG. 1.

Effect of subcutaneous piperacillin-tazobactam administration on the density of stool colonization with four strains of C. glabrata. Mice received subcutaneous piperacillin-tazobactam or normal saline daily from day −2 to day 6 and 10⁸ CFU of the C. glabrata strains on day 0. NS, normal saline; P/T, piperacillin-tazobactam; strain 1, A239; strain 2, A129; strain 3, ATCC 90030; strain 4, MRL 191. Error bars indicate standard errors.

FIG. 2.

Effect of subcutaneous antibiotic administration on the density of stool colonization with C. glabrata strains A239 (A) and ATCC 90030 (B). Mice received subcutaneous antibiotics or normal saline daily from day −2 to day 6 and 10⁶ CFU of C. glabrata on day 0. For strain A239, pooled data from two experiments are shown. Error bars indicate standard errors.

FIG. 3.

DGGE patterns of stool samples obtained from mice on day 3 of treatment with subcutaneous saline (lanes 2 and 3), levofloxacin (lanes 4 and 5), piperacillin-tazobactam (lanes 6 and 7), ceftriaxone (lanes 8 and 9), and metronidazole (lanes 10 and 11). A control pattern (lanes 1 and 12) contained PCR products obtained from strains of Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, and Bacteroides uniformis.