title: Saliva affects the antifungal activity of exogenously added histatin 3 towards Candida albicans.
abstract: Antifungal activity of histatin 3 against two Candida albicans clinical isolates was determined in assays containing rabbit submandibular gland saliva. Histatin 3 inhibited the cell growth and germination of both isolates dose-dependently (10-100 microg ml(-1)) with maximum inhibition occurring after 60 min incubation. Adding fresh histatin 3 after 60 min caused further reduction in the viable cell count. Higher histatin 3 concentrations (50-100 microg ml(-1)) and prolonged exposure to peptide were required to inhibit germination. Histatin 3 was rapidly degraded in rabbit submandibular gland saliva and this may explain why fresh addition of histatin 3 increases candidacidal activity.
authors.affiliation: Gene Therapy and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Hisako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.forename: Deirdre H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: Tin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sein
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Brian C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: O'Connell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005260:Female; D054808:Histatins; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011506:Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; C068075:HTN3 protein, human; D054808:Histatins; D011506:Proteins