title: The serum glucan level and pathological changes of antifungal treatment for lower respiratory tract infection of Candida albicans.
abstract: Due to the fact that Candida albicans colonizes in the upper respiratory tracts of healthy people, whether or not its isolation from airway secretions is sufficient to warrant treatment remains controversial. The animal models of immunosuppressive rats with pulmonary candidiasis were established by the intratracheal inoculating suspensions of C. albicans, and the animals were divided into the following three groups: (1) antifungal treatment group, (2) saline control group, and (3) blank control group. We noted the following in our studies: (1) The fungal load of the saline control group gradually increased such that it was higher than those of the antifungal treated group and was significant from the fourth day of treatment (P < 0.01). (2) The serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan (BG) in the saline control group also gradually increased so that it was significantly higher than found with the treated group by the sixth day of treatment (P < 0.05), and in fact, the rank of pulmonary colony count and BG in the two groups at different time points showed an almost perfect linear correlation. (3) The median survival period of the rats in the antifungal treated group and saline control group was 15 and 8 days respectively, no rats died in the blank control group. (4) The lung lesions from the saline control group gradually became more aggravated than those in the antifungal treated group; no significant pathological changes were found in the blank control group. Antifungal treatment (micafungin) is capable of efficaciously decreasing the lung fungal burden, and continuous monitoring of BG is useful for the evaluation of therapeutic effect of antifungals. Infection of C. albicans with associated pathological damage implies the need for antifungal therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Huang Pu Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510700, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Huang Pu Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510700, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shui
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Huang Pu Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510700, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Cong
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, the People's Hospital of Ma Chen City, Hubei Province.
authors.forename: Zhen-Qiu
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Huang Pu Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510700, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Huang Pu Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510700, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Huang Pu Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510700, China zhcr2303@sina.com.cn.
authors.forename: Chang-Ran
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000737:chemistry*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005936:Glucans / Q000097:blood*; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D044967:Serum / Q000737:chemistry*; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D005936:Glucans
keywords: (1,3)-β-D-glucan; Candida albicans; animal experiment; infection; pathology; therapy