title: Mucosal and systemic candidiasis in congenitally immunodeficient mice.
abstract: Colony counts and light microscopy were used to assess the capacity of Candida albicans to colonize, infect the alimentary tract, and cause disseminated disease in athymic (nu/nu), euthymic (nu/+), beige (bg/bg), black (bg/+), beige athymic (bg/bg nu/nu), or beige euthymic (bg/bg nu/+) germfree mice. The alimentary tracts of all six genotypes of germfree mice were quickly colonized after exposure to yeast-phase C. albicans. Only bg/bg nu/nu mice showed obvious morbidity and mortality after mucosal colonization with C. albicans. Histopathology of C. albicans-colonized immunocompetent (nu/+, bg/+) and singly immunodeficient (nu/nu, bg/bg, bg/bg nu/+) mice showed minimal to moderate mucosal infections, whereas doubly immunodeficient (bg/bg nu/nu) mice showed extensive yeast and hyphal infection of the palate, tongue, esophagus, and stomach. A progressive systemic infection in C. albicans-colonized mice occurred only in bg/bg nu/nu mice 12 to 16 weeks after colonization and mucosal infection. Thus, it appears that a combination of defective cell-mediated immunity and phagocytic cell defects (polymorphonuclear leukocytes and/or macrophages) predisposed mice to severe mucosal and systemic candidiasis of endogenous origin. This is the first report of a mouse strain that is not only naturally susceptible to mucosal and systemic candidiasis of endogenous origin but also shows lethality at early (1 to 4 weeks) and late (12 to 16 weeks) times after alimentary tract colonization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Cantorna
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balish
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D004947:Esophagus / Q000382:microbiology; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000382:microbiology