Metabolic control improves outcomes associated with mucormycosis. The aim of this study was to compare the in vitro proliferation of Rhizopus oryzae in blood of individuals with and without diabetes at different glycaemic levels. Ninety-five individuals were included. Blood samples from each participant were incubated with sporangiospores of R. oryzae. The germination, filamentation and growth of R. oryzae were compared at different time points. Four groups were defined, one without (group A, n = 30) and three with diabetes: group B (HbA1c ≤7%, N = 24), group C (HbA1c 7.1-9%, N = 20) and group D (HbA1c > 9%, N = 21). The percentage of germinated sporangiospores was higher in the group A after 6 h (group A 56% ± 3, group B 35% ± 4, group C 48% ± 4, group D 46% ± 1.4, p = 0.01), 12 h (group A 54% ± 1.4, group B 19% ± 4, group C 16% ± 1, group D 9.5% ± 5, p < 0.001) and 24 h (group A 29% ± 1, group B 12% ± 4, group C 13.5% ± 3.5, group D 12% ± 1, p < 0.01). The filamentation was higher in groups with diabetes. Group B showed higher filamentation grade than group A at 6 h (0.4 ± 0.04 vs 1 ± 0.09, p < 0.001) and 24 h (1.6 ± 0.05 vs 2.1 ± 0.1, p = 0.05). In conclusion, R. oryzae proliferation was higher among diabetic individuals, including good glycaemic control, than among non-diabetic individuals.
Keywords: Diabetes; Germination; Mucormycosis; Proliferation; Rhizopus oryzae.