Effect of in vivo administration of recombinant murine gamma interferon on in vitro lymphoproliferative responses following immunization with Candida albicans.

The effect of in vivo administration of recombinant murine gamma interferon (rMuIFN-gamma) on in vitro proliferation of lymphocytes to Candida antigens and lectins was examined in naive CBA/J mice and in similar mice colonized with Candida albicans by intragastric (i.g.) intubation and/or inoculated intradermally (i.d.) with the fungus. Lymph node lymphocyte and splenic lymphocyte (splenocyte) responses to soluble cytoplasmic substances derived from C. albicans varied with the route of inoculation of the fungus, the sex of the animal, and the presence or absence of rMuIFN-gamma treatment. In the absence of rMuIFN-gamma treatment, lymphoid cells from lymph nodes draining the site of the i.d. lesion responded well to soluble cytoplasmic substances. Colonization of the gut of female mice with C. albicans either had no effect or promoted better lymph node responses when such animals were also challenged i.d., whereas gut colonization of males followed by i.d. challenge appeared to have a suppressive influence on the level of proliferation in response to antigens in vitro. Antigen-specific splenocyte responses could be detected as well, and they were best in animals inoculated i.g.-i.d. or i.d. only. With the exception of lymph node lymphocytes from male mice, treatment of infected animals, regardless of the route of infection, with rMuIFN-gamma frequently resulted in lowered responses to antigens when comparable treatment groups were examined. With respect to mitogen stimulation, infection with C. albicans, especially i.g. or i.g.-i.d., resulted in a population of lymph node lymphocytes with lower-than-normal responses to concanavalin A but higher-than-normal responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Splenocyte responses to mitogens were not altered as dramatically as the responses of lymph node lymphocytes, but splenocytes from female mice had a suppressed response regardless of the route of exposure to C. albicans, and those from mice which were maximally stimulated with C. albicans, i.e., inoculated i.g.-i.d., also had a suppressed response to concanavalin A. Treatment with rMuIFN-gamma either had no effect on the subsequent splenocyte responses or boosted subnormal mitogen responses toward the normal range. Collectively, these data illustrate that exposure to both C. albicans and rMuIFN-gamma influenced the responses to mitogen and C. albicans antigen of lymph node lymphocyte and splenocyte populations, as detected in vitro by lymphoproliferation. Treatment with rMuIFN-gamma often resulted in increased responsiveness to a B cell mitogen, LPS, and decreased responsiveness to a C. albicans antigen.     

Mannan as an antigen in cell-mediated immunity (CMI) assays and as a modulator of mannan-specific CMI.

Mannan (MAN) extracted from Candida albicans 20A was investigated for its potential as an antigen in the detection of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in vivo and in vitro and for its ability to modulate CMI when administered intravenously (i.v.). CBA/J mice were either immunized as adults by the cutaneous inoculation of 10(6) viable blastoconidia or colonized as infants (primed) and then boosted cutaneously as adults. When immunized animals were footpad tested with MAN, highly significant delayed-type hypersensitivity (DH) responses were detected. The DH responses to MAN were of a greater magnitude than those noted with the same quantity of cell wall glycoprotein (GP), an ethylenediamine extract of the cell wall which contains both glucan and MAN. In contrast, GP was a better antigen for the detection of CMI responses in an in vitro lymphoproliferative assay with either spleen or lymph node cell suspensions. Mice treated with MAN i.v. prior to the initiation of immunization or between priming and secondary inoculations developed significantly suppressed DH reactions when tested with either MAN or GP. The lowest effective dose of MAN was 250 micrograms, maximum suppression occurred with 500 micrograms, and either dose given 1 week prior to immunization was suppressive. The suppression by MAN was specific for MAN or the MAN-containing GP. Responses to another unrelated candidal antigen, a membrane extract designated BEX, were relatively unaffected. MAN, therefore, was an effective antigen for the detection of CMI in vivo, and its administration i.v. created what appeared to be a MAN-specific suppression since it could be detected with both MAN and a MAN-containing extract from the cell wall. Caution must be exercised in the interpretation of these data, however, since the protein component of each of these extracts has not been characterized with respect to its potential role in the phenomena observed.     

Effects of cyclophosphamide on murine candidiasis.

Male CBA/J mice were given a single dose of 200 mg of cyclophosphamide (CY) per kg 3 days before a first or second cutaneous inoculation with viable Candida albicans in an attempt to suppress antibody formation and determine the effects of such suppression on the development of acquired immunity. After cutaneous inoculation, mice not treated with CY developed acquired immunity to intravenous challenge, which was accompanied by the development of circulating antibodies, delayed hypersensitivity, and in vitro responsiveness of lymph node cells to Candida antigens. CY treatment resulted in an immediate depression of peripheral blood leukocytes, with polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes rebounding quickly to normal or above normal levels while lymphocyte remained depressed throughout the 4-week observation period. In vitro stimulation of lymph node cells from CY-treated mice was depressed shortly after treatment; however, responses to phytohemagglutinin and three Candida antigens (a cell wall preparation, a membrane preparation, and soluble cytoplasmic substances) recovered, whereas the responses to lipopolysaccharide did not. CY effects on the cutaneous lesion were twofold; first, the number of viable Candida cells in the lesions was much higher in animals receiving CY 3 days before Candida inoculation, and second, the size of the dermal lesion was either greatly enhanced or reduced depending upon the time of CY treatment relative to the number of cutaneous Candida inoculations. CY-treated animals developed higher levels of delayed hypersensitivity to the membrane preparation when infected once cutaneously than did corresponding untreated animals. The number of mice responding with circulating antibodies to soluble cytoplasmic substances after cutaneous inoculation was greatly reduced in CY-treated groups, and this impaired ability to produce antibodies correlated with the poor survival of these mice after intravenous challenge. Our results suggest that the ability to produce antibody at the time of challenge is crucial to successful defense against systemic candidiasis in this murine model.     

Experimental Murine Candidiasis: Pathological and Immune Responses in T-Lymphocyte-Depleted Mice

Mice depleted of T-lymphocytes by thymectomy and irradiation (TXB) and immunologically competent mice were compared for gross and histological pathology as well as immune responses after cutaneous and/or intravenous challenge with Candida albicans. In response to a first cutaneous inoculation with viable Candida, TXB, sham-operated (SXB), and unmanipulated (normal) mice, all developed lesions of comparable size, duration, and histopathology. When challenged a second time cutaneously, normal and SXB mice developed lesions which were greatly increased in size when compared with those produced by a first cutaneous infection, whereas TXB mice developed lesions comparable in size to those initiated by the first infection. Histologically, the first and second lesions in all animals were acute abscesses predominantly comprised of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The larger second lesions in SXB and normal mice were accompanied by detectable circulating antibody and by delayed hypersensitivity. Neither circulating antibody nor delayed hypersensitivity were stimulated in the TXB mice. When challenged intravenously, all previously uninfected mice, regardless of T-cell status, were equally susceptible to C. albicans. Contrary to SXB or normal mice, however, TXB mice which had been infected cutaneously were not more resistant to a subsequent intravenous challenge as judged by 6-week survival. The results suggest that T-cells do not play a significant role in innate resistance of mice to systemic candidiasis, but that such cells are important in the development of acquired resistance.     

Nonspecific and Candida-specific immune responses in mice suppressed by chronic administration of anti-mu

CBA/J mice were immunosuppressed by repeated administration of goat antibody specific for mu chain of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and tested for nonspecific and Candida albicans-specific immune responses. Immunosuppression was demonstrated by a dramatic reduction in the number of antibody-forming cells in the spleens of anti-mu-treated mice when immunized with sheep erythrocytes, by greatly reduced in vitro responsiveness of both spleen and lymph node lymphocytes from anti-mu-treated mice to lipopolysaccharide, and by a large reduction in the number of splenic IgM-positive cells. T cell function, on the other hand, appeared to be relatively unaltered in anti-mu-treated animals, in the cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity against an allogeneic target was similar in splenocyte cultures from anti-mu- and mock-treated animals, and splenic and lymph node lymphocytes proliferated in response to concanavalin A in a lymphocyte stimulation assay. Moreover, Candida-specific delayed hypersensitivity to two different Candida antigens, one cell wall-derived (GP) and the other cell membrane-derived (BEX), was of comparable intensity in immunosuppressed and normal animals. When anti-mu- and mock-treated mice were immunized by the cutaneous inoculation of viable C. albicans blastospores and then challenged intravenously to assess the development of protective immunity, only mock-treated animals, male and female, had significant (p less than or equal to 0.05) protective responses demonstrable by reduction in the number of colony-forming units cultured from their kidneys 28 days after intravenous challenge. If consideration was given to the number of animals which had cleared Candida completely from the kidney, however, there appeared to be protective responses operative in the female anti-mu-treated animals as well. Neither anti-mu-treated males nor females, when immunized and challenged with C. albicans, produced Candida-specific antibody detectable by counterimmunoelectrophoresis, whereas all immunized and challenged mock-treated animals produced antibody. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that anti-mu treatment has little effect on multiple cellular immune functions, including those specific for C. albicans, and the combination of antibody, cell-mediated immunity and innate defenses are responsible for solid systemic defense against the fungus.     

Experimental murine candidiasis: pathological and immune responses to cutaneous inoculation with Candida albicans.

Cutaneous infection of mice with Candida albicans elicited a predominantly acute inflammatory response, stimulated the production of precipitating antibodies, and conferred protection against subsequent intravenous challenge with the same organism. The acute inflammatory skin reaction seen after cutaneous infection suggested a predominantly humoral response to Candida. Animals infected cutaneously a second time with viable C. albicans developed larger skin lesions than animals infected only once, and the twice-infected animals were more resistant to an intravenous challenge as well. The cutaneous inoculation of mice with heat-killed C. albicans was less effective in stimulating antibody production, in eliciting the inflammatory response, and in inducing a protective response demonstrable by intravenous challenge with viable Candida. This model of experimental candidiasis represents a reproducible means of studying a protective immune response to the organism.     

Role of Macrophages in Resistance to Murine Cytomegalovirus

The role of macrophages in protecting mice from murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) was studied in Swiss, CBA/J, and C57BL/6J mice. CBA/J mice were more resistant to virus than were C57BL/6J mice at all ages tested. Prior treatment of adult Swiss mice with 60 mg of silica, a dose selectively toxic to macrophages, increased mortality due to MCMV infection. Transfer of syngeneic adult macrophages to suckling mice significantly increased their resistance to subsequent MCMV infection. Transfer of syngeneic, nonimmune adult lymphocytes to suckling mice also had a lesser but significant protective effect against subsequent MCMV challenge. In vitro infection of adult CBA/J and C57BL/6J macrophages with virulent and attenuated MCMV resulted in productive infection in only a small percentage of cells and recovery of very little virus from the extracellular fluid. Infection of CBA macrophages was no less productive than C57BL/6J nor was infection with virulent virus more productive than with attenuated virus. Histological examination of the livers of MCMV-infected CBA/J and C57BL/6J mice suggested that divergent cellular immune responses to infection might account for differences in susceptibility. It is postulated that the macrophage may facilitate the inductive phase of cellular immunity, one possible explanation for its demonstrated importance in host defenses against MCMV.     

Immunoregulation in experimental murine candidiasis: specific suppression induced by Candida albicans cell wall glycoprotein.

Immune regulation in candidiasis is inferred from studies of both human and animal infection, with a suppressive role suggested for cell wall polysaccharide. To study the immunosuppressive potential of Candida albicans in a murine model, whole blastoconidia or purified cell wall components of C. albicans were tested for their effects on the development of acquired immune responses by superimposing a pretreatment regimen upon an established immunization protocol. CBA/J or BALB/cByJ mice were pretreated twice intravenously with 100 micrograms of mannan (MAN), 100 or 200 micrograms of glycoprotein (GP), or 5 X 10(7) heat-killed C. albicans blastoconidia, followed 1 week later by an immunization protocol of two cutaneous inoculations of viable C. albicans blastoconidia given 2 weeks apart. Delayed hypersensitivity (DTH) to GP or to a membrane-derived antigen, B-HEX, was tested 7 days after the second inoculation, and lymphocyte stimulation was tested with mitogens and Candida antigens after 12 days. To assess protection, mice were challenged intravenously with viable C. albicans blastoconidia 14 days after the second cutaneous inoculation and sacrificed 28 days later for quantitative culture of kidneys and brains. Sera were obtained for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays at selected intervals. Pretreatment with GP resulted in specific in vivo suppression of DTH to GP but not to B-HEX antigen and specific in vitro suppression of lymphocyte stimulation to GP but not to other Candida antigens or mitogens. MAN and heat-killed C. albicans blastoconidia had no such effects. GP pretreatment also diminished the protective effect of immunization against challenge, demonstrable in the brain, while not altering significantly the production of antibody in response to infection. Contrary to clinical evidence, MAN was not immunosuppressive in this model, and in fact, the immunosuppressive potential of GP, which is composed largely of MAN, was found to be dependent upon the presence of its heat-labile protein moiety.     

Tumor formation and sister chromatid exchange induction by ethyl carbamate: relationships among non-pregnant murine females, gravid dams, and transplacentally exposed offspring.

Sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) induction and cell cycle kinetics alterations by ethyl carbamate in bone marrow of non-gravid murine Swiss Webster, ICR/Jcl, and C57Bl/6J dams were evaluated, and data from non-gravid females were compared with those previously reported for pregnant dams of the same strains. In addition, lung adenoma induction by ethyl carbamate in gravid Swiss Webster dams, their offspring, and in non-pregnant Swiss Webster females was also determined. Relative cytogenetic and tumor responses in non-gravid and gravid Swiss Webster females and their offspring were compared. In contrast to the increased sensitivity reported for gravid Swiss Webster dams versus ICR/Jcl and C57Bl/6J dams, SCE responses to 1.1, 2.2, or 3.3 mmol/kg of ethyl carbamate in non-gravid females were approximately equivalent among strains. In Swiss Webster and C57Bl/6J (but not ICR/Jcl) strains, SCE responses in non-gravid females at 2.2 and 3.3 were significantly lower than those of their pregnant counterparts. Tumor induction by 3.3 mmol/kg ethyl carbamate paralleled relative SCE induction with Swiss Webster dams, demonstrating a 5-fold increase in the number of tumors relative to their offspring and a 4-fold enhancement of tumor induction relative to their non-pregnant counterparts.     

Effects of systemic cell-mediated immunity on vaginal candidiasis in mice resistant and susceptible to Candida albicans infections.

Studies to date with CBA/J mice suggest a limited role for systemic cell-mediated immunity (CMI) against vaginal Candida albicans infections. The results of the present study show that preinduced Candida-specific systemic CMI was equally nonprotective against C. albicans vaginal infections in mice with high (BALB/cJ), low (DBA/2), or intermediate (CBA/J) resistance to C. albicans infections. Similarly, the locally acquired partial protection against a second C. albicans vaginal infection was equally observed with BALB/cJ, DBA/2, and CBA/J mice. These results indicate that observations made previously with CBA/J mice were not murine strain specific and provide additional support for the hypothesis that systemic CMI does not represent a dominant host defense mechanism at the vaginal mucosa.     

Characterization of Candida albicans mannan-induced, mannan-specific delayed hypersensitivity suppressor cells.

We have shown previously that CBA/J mice immunized with Candida albicans developed delayed hypersensitivity (DH) demonstrable with mannan (MAN) extracted from the same organism and that the intravenous (i.v.) injection of MAN prior to or during the immunization phase resulted in the suppression of the MAN-specific DH response. In this study, we demonstrate that MAN-induced suppression of DH is a T-lymphocyte-mediated phenomenon. Suppressor cells induced in vivo by the i.v. injection of MAN into naive mice 1 to 7 days prior to harvest were passaged through nylon wool, treated with various surface-specific antibodies and complement, and then injected i.v. into immunized syngeneic recipients. Enrichment of splenic T cells by passage over nylon wool and transfer of the nylon-wool-nonadherent populations to immunized recipient mice suppressed DH in a dose-dependent manner. Depletion of Thy+ or Lyt-2+ cells from nylon-wool-nonadherent populations regularly ablated the ability of such suspensions to transfer suppression. Treatment of the same transfer suspensions with anti-Lyt-1 had variable effects, suggesting that the surface density of the Lyt-1 antigen was not as constant from population to population as was the Lyt-2 antigen. In addition, C. albicans MAN-induced suppressor cells were able to suppress DH demonstrable with Candida tropicalis MAN in animals immunized with C. tropicalis. Suppression of DH by MAN in this model, therefore, is mediated by Thy+ Lyt-2+ lymphocytes.     

Histopathological and immunopathological studies on experimental pulmonary candidiasis]

Experimental pulmonary candidiasis was produced by intratracheal inoculation of candida albicans in mice. The pathological changes could be divided into two stages, dominated by polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration and granuloma formation respectively. Preincubation of C. albicans with mouse anti-C. albicans antibody showed no obvious effect on pathological changes of the lungs as compared with the changes in the control mice, indicating that specific antibody did not play a crucial role in the defence mechanism of the lungs against C. albicans infection in normal mice. In the mice injected with antineoplastic drugs and hormones, abundant pseudohyphae were found in the lungs. Tissue necrosis and hemorrhage were obvious.     

Macrophage cell lines P388D1 and IC-21 stimulated with gamma interferon fail to inhibit the intracellular growth of Histoplasma capsulatum.

Histoplasma capsulatum, a facultative intracellular parasite of macrophages, grows within mononuclear cells of the P388D1 and IC-21 cell lines with a generation time comparable to that with which it grows in normal resident peritoneal macrophages (10 +/- 2 h). Recombinant murine gamma interferon (rMuIFN-gamma) activates P388D1 cells to express la antigens but not to inhibit the intracellular growth of H. capsulatum, alone or in combination with lipopolysaccharide. IC-21 cells also could not be activated to fungistasis with rMuIFN-gamma. Explanted resident peritoneal macrophages of the C57BL/6 (from which the IC-21 cell line derives), C3H/HeJ, DBA/2 (from which the P388D1 cell line derives), A/J, and SJL/J strains of mice were all stimulated by rMuIFN-gamma to inhibit the fungus.     

Production of antibodies to antigens of Candida albicans in CBA/H mice.

Reported targets of the specific immune responses to Candida albicans in human candidiasis include a 47-kDa breakdown product of a 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP 90) (R. Matthews and J. Burnie, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 60:25-30, 1989) and the 48-kDa enolase (K.M. Franklyn, J.R. Warmington, A.K. Ott, and R.B. Ashman, Immunol. Cell Biol. 68:173-178, 1990). These proteins are immunodominant antigens of C. albicans. Western blotting (immunoblotting) and immunoprecipitation were used to investigate the humoral response in a mouse model of systemic candidiasis. Resolution of systemic candidiasis in CBA/H mice is associated with a high level of antibody reactivity to C. albicans antigens. A significant antibody response against a non-HSP antigen of 96 kDa which was distinct from the C. albicans HSP 90 antigen was detected. Significant antibody reactivity against an HSP of 75 kDa was also detected. We concluded that resolution of C. albicans infections in CBA/H mice was associated with antibodies to an HSP and a non-HSP of 75 and 96 kDa, respectively.     

Specific Suppression of MLC and CML by Anti-Idiotypic Antibodies in the Mouse

Rabbit antisera directed against idiotypic determinants of alloreactive mouse CBA anti-C57BL/6 T blasts were raised in the following manner: first, a rabbit serum directed against nonspecific CBA blasts cells was prepared by injecting CBA concanavalin A blasts three times at monthly intervals into a rabbit. Second, specific CBA anti-C57BL/6 T lymphoblasts were induced in a mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC), were purified by gravity sedimentation through a fetal calf serum gradient, and, finally, were incubated with the anti-blast serum from the first step. During this incubation, presumably all epitopes of the blast cell population were blocked by anti-blast antibodies, except for the greatly amplified set of CBA anti-C57BL/6 alloreactive idiotypes. The mixture was then injected into fresh rabbits, which were boosted with similar mixtures after 3 and 6 weeks. Blood samples were removed 10 days after each injection. Such sera, when used together with complement, inhibited specifically the stimulation of CBA cells by C57BL/6 antigens in MLC and the CBA anti-C57BL/6 killer cells.     

Changes in Natural Killer Activities in Experimental Secondary Amyloidosis

Natural killer (NK) cell activity in experimental murine amyloidosis was studied. In CBA/J mice, which show a high incidence of amyloidosis, NK activity was significantly decreased after 1 week of casein treatment. In C3H mice, which show a low incidence of amyloidosis, NK activity was not changed by casein treatment. Pretreatment with lipopolysaccharide in vivo enhanced the NK activities in CBA/J and C3H mice. These increases were not observed after casein treatment. The lowered NK activity of cells from CBA/J mice after casein treatment was restored to the normal range by indomethacine in vitro. Depletion of adherent cells from the spleen cells treated with casein had no effect on NK activity. Single-cell assay showed that casein treatment impaired the killing but not the binding of NK cells to target cells. After casein treatment, the splenic serum amyloid A (SAA) level gradually increased in CBA/J mice but remained low in C3H mice. NK activity was suppressed by the addition of serum obtained from CBA/J mice treated with casein but not by normal control serum. And partially purified AA protein obtained from the spleen of CBA/J mice treated with casein also suppressed NK activity in vitro.     

A mouse model of Chlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR pneumonitis.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common cause of acute respiratory infections in humans. We evaluated mice as experimental animals for C. pneumoniae. Intranasal inoculation of Swiss Webster mice with C. pneumoniae induced a prolonged course of lung infection, as demonstrated by reisolation of organisms from lungs (at 42 days) and persistence of lung pathology (> 60 days). The lung pathology was characterized by patchy interstitial pneumonitis with predominantly polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration in the early and mononuclear cell infiltration in the later stages of infection. Inoculated mice developed serum immunoglobulin G antibody responses and partial resistance against rechallenge inoculation. The other mouse strains tested, Icr, BALB/cAnN, C57BL/6N, C3H/HeN, and B6C3F1, were shown to be susceptible to C. pneumoniae. The mouse model should be useful for investigating the immunopathogenesis of C. pneumoniae infections.     

Intrauterine Infection with Plasmid-Free Chlamydia muridarum Reveals a Critical Role of the Plasmid in Chlamydial Ascension and Establishes a Model for Evaluating Plasmid-Independent Pathogenicity

Intravaginal infection with plasmid-competent but not plasmid-free Chlamydia muridarum induces hydrosalpinx in mouse upper genital tract, indicating a critical role of the plasmid in chlamydial pathogenicity. To evaluate the contribution of the plasmid to chlamydial ascension and activation of tubal inflammation, we delivered plasmid-free C. muridarum directly into the endometrium by intrauterine inoculation. We found that three of the six mouse strains tested, including CBA/J, C3H/HeJ, and C57BL/6J, developed significant hydrosalpinges when 1 × 10⁷ inclusion-forming units (IFU) of plasmid-free C. muridarum were intrauterinally inoculated. Even when the inoculum was reduced to 1 × 10⁴ IFU, the CBA/J mice still developed robust hydrosalpinx. The hydrosalpinx development in CBA/J mice correlated with increased organism ascension to the oviduct following the intrauterine inoculation. The CBA/J mice intravaginally infected with the same plasmid-free C. muridarum strain displayed reduced ascending infection and failed to develop hydrosalpinx. These observations have demonstrated a critical role of the plasmid in chlamydial ascending infection. The intrauterine inoculation of the CBA/J mice with plasmid-free C. muridarum not only resulted in more infection in the oviduct but also stimulated more inflammatory infiltration and cytokine production in the oviduct than the intravaginal inoculation, suggesting that the oviduct inflammation can be induced by plasmid-independent factors, which makes the hydrosalpinx induction in CBA/J mice by intrauterine infection with plasmid-free C. muridarum a suitable model for investigating plasmid-independent pathogenic mechanisms.     

Cellular Immunity in a Cutaneous Model of Cryptococcosis

The temporal development of cellular immune responses in mice inoculated cutaneously with viable Cryptococcus neoformans 145 was determined in vivo and in vitro by comparing several antigen preparations for their efficacy in the assays selected. Three antigens derived from C. neoformans 145, viz., a culture filtrate preparation (CneF-145), a membrane extract (B-HEX), and soluble cytoplasmic substances (SCS), were compared for their ability to detect delayed hypersensitivity (DH) in vivo in a footpad assay or to stimulate lymphocytes in vitro in a thymidine incorporation assay. DH to B-HEX could be demonstrated as early as 1 week after infection, whereas significant responses to SCS and CneF-145 were not regularly detected until 3 weeks after infection. Substantial reactions were observed to all three antigens up to 12 weeks, although they peaked at 2 to 3 weeks. Reactions to B-HEX and SCS were somewhat better than those to CneF. Differences in the efficacies of the three antigens were not obvious after the sixth week of infection, however. In vitro, lymph node cells from infected animals were stimulated significantly with all three antigens beginning at week 1. As with DH, however, responses to CneF-145 were usually less than those to SCS and B-HEX. In vitro lymphocyte responses waned after approximately 6 weeks, whereas DH responses were clearly positive through 12 weeks. In addition to the studies in infected animals, animals immunized with heat-killed cells of C. neoformans 145 or 184 were tested 6 to 8 days later for DH with CneF-145, CneF-184, or B-HEX derived from C. neoformans 145. The CneF-145 and CneF-184 were equally effective for detecting DH, regardless of the cryptococcal strain used for immunization. Likewise, the B-HEX detected equivalent responses in mice sensitized with each cryptococcal strain. Since all three antigens were soluble and easily extracted and since each elicited significant cellular immune responses in infected animals, further studies involving their specificity and the nature of their reactive components seems warranted as they may help evaluate immune responses in humans infected with this fungus.     

Gastrointestinal colonization and systemic dissemination by Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis in intact and immunocompromised mice.

Gastrointestinal colonization and systemic dissemination by Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis were compared in intact and immunocompromised mice. Five-day-old CFW mice were inoculated by the oral-intragastric route with 1.0 x 10(7) CFU of two C. albicans and two C. tropicalis strains isolated from the blood of patients with acute leukemia and with C. albicans 4918 and its cerulenin-resistant mutant 4918-10. C. albicans and C. tropicalis spread to the lungs, liver, and kidneys within 30 min postinoculation, and organ CFU of the two species were comparable over the following 10 days. Close association of blastoconidia with the villous surface of the small intestine resulted in lysis of microvilli and then progressive invasion of villi. Blastoconidia within villi were surrounded by a conspicuous zone of clearing. Persistent colonization of the small and large intestines by C. albicans blood isolates and strains 4918 and 4918-10 was similar for 31 days after inoculation, but consistently exceeded that of C. tropicalis. In mice colonized with C. albicans, immunosuppression with cortisone acetate and cyclophosphamide on days 30 and 33 after inoculation increased stomach CFU 40- to 370-fold and intestinal CFU 30- to 80-fold. In contrast, persistent colonization by C. tropicalis was undetectable before immunosuppression and only became apparent after treatment. C. albicans disseminated more frequently and with higher organ CFU than C. tropicalis. Despite this fact, 20% of mice infected with C. tropicalis died, compared with 4% infected with C. albicans blood isolates. Indirect immunofluorescence revealed penetrative growth by Candida hyphae exclusively in the mucosa and submucosa of the stomach from immunosuppressed, persistently colonized mice. Taken together, the data indicate that C. tropicalis appears to be more virulent than C. albicans and that factors responsible for gastrointestinal colonization, systemic dissemination, and mortality in immunocompromised mice may not be identical.