Effect of growth of Candida spp. in the presence of various glucocorticoids on the adherence to human buccal epithelial cells.

In vitro culturing of three different yeast species with a number of glucocorticoids altered their adherence ability in two ways: Incubation with dexamethasone and triamcinolone acetonide promoted the adherence in general (the increase in adherence ranged between 17% and 44%), whilst growth in the presence of cortisone acetate or hydrocortisone blocked the adherence (inhibition ranged from 16% to 32%). No statistical difference in the adherence capabilities of different growth phases of C. albicans noted, and the effects of glucocorticoids persisted irrespective of the phase of growth used. An attempt to explain the differences in adherence of the Candida spp. investigated, in the presence of various steroids, on the basis of variation in their structural configurations and/or steroid-receptor interaction is given.