Rapid destruction of skeletal muscle fibers by mycelial growth forms of Candida albicans.
The process of tissue invasion by the yeast Candida albicans after subcutaneous inoculation into the footpad of mice has been examined by light and electron microscopy. The blastospores germinated within 2 hr after injection. Hyphal and, to a lesser extent, pseudohyphal elements were observed penetrating into the adjacent striated muscle fibers and the endothelial cells of capillaries and destroying the collagen bundles of the interstitium. Electron microscopy showed evidence of structural tissue degradation associated with the mycelial elements, particularly at the apical tip. This was presumably due to fungal enzymatic activity. By 3 hr after infection, polymorphonuclear leucocytes had engulfed both the extracellular and intracellular mycelia, and often there was structural evidence of mycelial degradation. The results provide morphological evidence that initial tissue damage following subcutaneous infection is caused by the mycelial growth form.
Pathology Department, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
R B
RB
Ashman
A
A
Fulurija
T A
TA
Robertson
J M
JM
Papadimitriou
D000818:Animals; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004705:Endocytosis; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000382:microbiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012508:Sarcolemma / Q000648:ultrastructure