title: Candida albicans colonization and ASCA in familial Crohn's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCAs) are present in 50-60% of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and in 20-25% of their healthy relatives (HRs). The yeast, Candida albicans, has been shown to generate ASCAs, but the presence of C. albicans in the digestive tract of CD patients and their HRs has never been investigated. Therefore, we studied C. albicans carriage in familial CD and its correlation with ASCAs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study groups consisted of 41 CD families composed of 129 patients and 113 HRs, and 14 control families composed of 76 individuals. Mouth swabs and stool specimens were collected for isolation, identification, and quantification of yeasts. Serum samples were collected for detection of ASCAs and anti-C. albicans mannan antibodies (ACMAs).
  
  
  RESULTS
  C. albicans was isolated significantly more frequently from stool samples from CD patients (44%) and their HRs (38%) than from controls (22%) (P<0.05). The prevalence of ACMAs was similar between CD patients, their HRs, and controls (22, 19, and 21%, respectively, P=0.845), whereas the prevalence of ASCAs was significantly increased in CD families (72 and 34% in CD and HRs, respectively, in contrast to 4% in controls, P<0.0001). AMCA levels correlated with C. albicans colonization in all populations. ASCA levels correlated with C. albicans colonization in HRs but not in CD patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CD patients and their first-degree HRs are more frequently and more heavily colonized by C. albicans than are controls. ASCAs correlate with C. albicans colonization in HRs but not in CD. In HRs, ASCAs could result from an altered immune response to C. albicans. In CD, a subsequent alteration in sensing C. albicans colonization could occur with disease onset.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U799, Faculté de Médecine, Pôle Recherche, Université de Lille 2, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Standaert-Vitse
authors.forename: Boualem
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sendid
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Joossens
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: François
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vandewalle-El Khoury
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Branche
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Kruiningen
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jouault
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rutgeerts
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gower-Rousseau
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Libersa
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neut
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Broly
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chamaillard
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vermeire
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poulain
authors.forename: Jean-Frédéric
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Colombel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000908:Antibodies, Fungal