MALDI-TOF MS: A Quick Method to Detect the Susceptibility of Fusarium spp. Clinical Isolates to Amphotericin B

Disseminated fusariosis is treated with amphotericin B and voriconazole. To determine adequate therapy, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) is used. However, MIC analysis is based on visual observation and requires a long period of fungal incubation. The measure of the minimal profile change concentration (MPCC) using MALDI-TOF MS is a quick spectral method that has presented good results in determining the antimicrobial resistance of yeasts. However, there is a lack of information on filamentous fungi. In the present work, 13 Fusarium spp. clinical isolates and two reference strains were used. MIC was obtained according to the M38-A2 protocol of the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute, while MPPC was obtained following the initial steps of the M38-A2 protocol. Both Biotyper and the Rstudio environment were used to analyze mass spectra. For some fungal strains, the data obtained from the software MALDI Biotyper Compass 4.1 led to fuzzy heatmaps resulting in difficult interpretation, while heatmaps obtained using Rstudio tools generated better MPCC resolutions. Herein, 86.6% of the AMB MPCC values were highly correlated with the gold-standard AMB MIC. MALDI-TOF MS is a prominent tool used to determine MPCCs quicker, cost-effectively, and more accurately for Fusarium spp. strains. However, better statistical analyses could help measure the technique's limit detection.

Automated summary

Disseminated fusariosis is treated with amphotericin B and voriconazole, and determining antimicrobial resistance is important for adequate therapy. This study used MALDI-TOF MS to determine the minimal profile change concentration (MPCC) of 13 clinical isolates of Fusarium spp. The results showed that MALDI-TOF MS is a promising tool for determining MPCCs, but further statistical analyses are needed. This study contributes to the understanding of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms.