Quantitative Real-Time PCR Analysis of Intestinal Regular Fungal Species in Fecal Samples From Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Objective: To clarify the intestinal fungal flora imbalance at varied stages of chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection. Methods: Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to investigate the intestinal Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida trop/ca//s, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in HBV-liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, chronic hepatitis (CH) B patients, HBV carriers (HC), and healthy volunteers. The distribution of intestinal fungi in relation to the staging of chronic HBV infection was analyzed. Results: Target DNA copy number and prevalence value of intestinal regular fungal species were much higher in patients with chronic HBV infection than in healthy volunteers, especially in LC and CH. The most numerous fungal species in LC, CH, HC, and healthy volunteers was C. krusei, S. cerevisiae, S. cerevisiae, and C. krusei, respectively, while S. cerevisiae, C. krusei, C. alb/cans, and C. albicans were more frequently found in the groups described above, respectively. Conclusion: Proliferations of intestinal regular fungi existed in patients at varied stages of chronic HBV infection, and the degree of flora imbalance correlated with the severity of HBV infection.