Biochemical examination of sera during systemic Candida infection in mice.

Candida pathogenesis was examined by intravenous challenge of mice with either C. albicans or C. guilliermondii. Animals were moribund 12 h postchallenge with C. albicans and were found to have the greatest number of organisms in the heart and kidney, severe interstitial myocarditis, and elevated serum levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatine phosphokinase, serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, and lactic dehydrogenase. In contrast, challenge with C. guilliermondii resulted in a significantly lower renal census, no myocarditis, and no significant change in the concentration of these serum constituents. Challenge with nonviable C. albicans did not produce the effects observed with viable organisms. Moreover, challenge with filamentous C. albicans resulted in biochemical alterations of lower magnitude and in lower mortality rates. These results indicated that altered serum biochemistries were correlated with the histopathology of fatal Candida infection and that there were distinct differences with C. guilliermondii and the dimorphic phases of C. albicans.