Studying Candida albicans Adhesion

Abstract

Increasing recognition of the ecological, medical and economic significance of microbial adhesion has resulted in a vast escalation of research effort in this area. Although studies on bacterial adhesion have predominated, with an extensive body of data, investigations on candidal adherence are comparatively limited.²³ Nevertheless, a rapidly expanding literature on candidal adherence attests to the potential importance of understanding the behavior of this ubiquitous yeast and the pathogenesis of infections which it causes in the human host.^37,59 Adhesion of Candida to epithelial cells has been investigated to define parameters relevant to the pathogenesis of oral, gastrointestinal, vaginal and urinary candidiasis.^24,48,57,58 Further, the attachment of the organism to fibrin, fibrin-platelet matrices and to vascular endothelial cells have been examined to elucidate initial events leading to candidal endocarditis and hematogenously disseminated infection.^48,49,60 There is also a growing body of information on the adhesion of Candida to inert/nonbiological surfaces such as denture prostheses, intravascular and urinary catheters, and prosthetic cardiac valves.^{12,31–33,48,50,51,54,55}