Introduction.

Proteases and phospholipases are virulence factors of Candida spp. that play an important role in tissue invasion. Among the factors related to the host some are associated with environmental characteristics and others with Candida colonization.

Objectives.

To determine phospholipase and protease activities in colonizing and pathogenic strains, isolated from pregnant women in Cartagena de Indias.

Materials and methods.

Phospholipase and protease activity was determined in 56 isolates, evaluating substrate degradation and calculating the enzyme activity coefficient. Phospholipase and protease activities were compared between colonizing and pathogenic strains.

Results.

"Very high" (<0.69) phospholipase and protease activity was found in 34 and 14 isolates, respectively. There was no significant difference when comparing phospholipase and protease activities between colonizing and pathogenic isolates.

Conclusions.

Phospholipase activity predominated as a virulence factor in the studied strains, but no significant difference was found between colonizing and pathogenic strains for phospholipase and protease activities.

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