Correlation between in vivo and in vitro studies of modulation of resistance to experimental Candida albicans infection by cyclophosphamide in mice.

Mice receiving a single injection of cyclophosphamide (150 mg/kg) 1 to 6 days before inoculation with viable Candida albicans showed an increased susceptibility to the challenge accompanied by a reduction in peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes and lymphocytes as well as in spleen cellularity. Several immunological in vitro functions also appeared to be dramatically depressed. Most of these hematological and functional parameters returned to control values by day 9 after cyclophosphamide administration, at a time when resistance to C. albicans infection appeared to be unchanged. However, when exposure to cyclophosphamide occurred 12 to 21 days before inoculation with the live yeast, enhanced resistance was observed with the majority of the animals surviving challenge. To gain some insight into the mechanisms underlying this late increase in resistance to C. albicans infection after cyclophosphamide administration, we analyzed a series of immunological functions, including the in vitro candidacidal activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils and plastic-adherent and nonadherent spleen cells as well as the activity of natural killer cells and alloreactive T lymphocytes. The results show that a numerical rebound of blood polymorphonuclear neutrophils and the appearance of a highly candidacidal cell population in the spleen may be among the factors underlying the late increase in resistance to C. albicans after administration of cyclophosphamide.