Inefficiency of in vivo candidacidal mechanisms in experimental subcutaneous infections with Candida albicans in mice.

A murine model of subcutaneous Candida albicans infections was used to evaluate host defenses against inocula of from 10(1) to 10(8) yeast cells. In these experiments, small inocula did not produce abscesses that drained to the skin surface, whereas larger ones did. Also, small numbers of organisms often remained at the infected sites for up to 21 days after inoculation with either small or large numbers of organisms. The data from these studies suggest that the in vivo candidacidal mechanisms in these infections are relatively inefficient and that they therefore may require some additional mechanism to control proliferation of the remaining organisms.