Correlation between culture medium pH, extracellular proteinase activity, and cell growth of Candida albicans in insoluble stratum corneum-supplemented media.

Candida albicans produces a major extracellular proteinase whose activities are observed only in weakly acidic pH. However, in affected lesions, a variety of pH conditions exist, including neutral pH. To verify the pathological importance of the extracellular proteinase, the correlation between culture medium pH, extracellular proteinase activity, and cell growth of C. albicans was followed for 3 weeks with unbuffered and insoluble stratum corneum-supplemented liquid media. Each medium pH, initially adjusted within a range of pH 3-7 by the addition of sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid solution, was acidified, and a subsequent high proteolytic activity and rapid fungal growth were observed. After full fungal growth, neutralization of each medium to pH 7 and reduction of proteinase activity occurred. Results from a glucose addition experiment suggest that acidification of each medium was produced by the acid formation from glucose and neutralization by the exhaustion of glucose and increase of ammonia from denatured stratum corneum. These data suggest that extracellular proteinase from C. albicans could act as a virulence factor under a wide range of pH conditions by the acidification of the environmental pH close to the organism.