Candida albicans persisters constitute a small subpopulation of biofilm cells and play a major role in recalcitrant chronic candidiasis; however, the mechanism underlying persister formation remains unclear. Persisters are often described as dormant, multidrug-tolerant, nongrowing cells. Persister cells are difficult to isolate and study not only due to their low levels in C. albicans biofilms ...

Chronic hyperplastic candidiasis (CHC) lesions will progress to dysplasia with some of these developing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). It is well known that diabetic patients are predisposed to candidiasis. Previously, we found that alloxan-induced diabetic rats spontaneously have mucosal hyperplasia with C. albicans infection and that those lesions progress to SCC. Here, we developed a rat mod...

Protein arginine methylation plays a key role in numerous eukaryotic processes, such as protein transport and signal transduction. In Candida albicans, two candidate protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) have been identified from the genome sequencing project. Based on sequence comparison, C. albicans candidate PRMTs display similarity to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hmt1 and Rmt2. Here we de...

BACKGROUND Vulvovaginal candidiasis is caused by Candida albicans. The vaginal epithelium, as the first site of the initial stage of infection by pathogens, plays an important role in resisting genital tract infections. Moreover, lactobacilli are predominant members of the vaginal microbiota that help to maintain a normal vaginal microenvironment. Therefore, Lactobacillus crispatus was explored...

Candida albicans is an opportunistic human fungal pathogen. The ability to switch among multiple cellular forms is key to its pathogenesis. The Dbf4-dependent protein kinase gene CDC7 is conserved due to its role in initiating DNA replication. Because a C. albicans Cdc7 (Cacdc7) homozygous null was not viable, we generated a C. albicans strain with a deleted C. albicans CDC7 (CaCDC7) allele and...

Microbial adherence to mucosal surfaces is an important first step in the initiation of the pathogenic process in the oral cavity. Candida albicans, the most adherent and pathogenic Candida species, utilizes a variety of mechanisms to adhere to human tissues. Although the strongest mechanism of adherence involves mannoprotein adhesins on C. albicans, cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) plays an i...

Streptococcus agalactiae and Candida albicans often co-colonize the female genital tract, and under certain conditions induce mucosal inflammation. The role of the interaction between the two organisms in candidal vaginitis is not known. In this study, we found that co-infection with S. agalactiae significantly attenuated the hyphal development of C. albicans, and that EFG1-Hwp1 signal pathway ...

Candida albicans is an opportunistic human fungal pathogen that requires an intact host immune response to prevent disease. Thus, studying host-pathogen interactions is critical to understanding and preventing this disease. We report a new model infection system in which ongoing C. albicans infections can be imaged at high spatial resolution in the ears of living mice. Intradermal inoculation i...

Antisera were developed in rabbits after challenge with intracellular antigens of Candida albicans, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis. Microorganism catalase has been correlated with virulence, resistance to drugs and immunogenicity. The intracellular catalase is consistently present in strains of Candida and in this paper, the enzyme activity was analysed by PAGE after exposition to antisera. ...

Candida albicans is both the most common fungal commensal microorganism in healthy individuals and the major fungal pathogen causing high mortality in at-risk populations, especially immunocompromised patients. In this review, we summarize the interplay between the host innate system and C. albicans, ranging from how the host recognizes, responds, and clears C. albicans infection to how C. albi...