Effects of specific antibodies on the interaction between the fungus Candida albicans and human oral mucosa.

Host-parasite interactions were studied in four groups: non-infected controls; infected carriers of Candida albicans without evidence of candidiasis; subjects with acute candidiasis; and subjects with chronic candidiasis. Specific anti-candida antibodies were demonstrated in saliva from subjects of all four groups; the titres reflected the degree of antigenic stimulation, being significantly higher in candidiasis than in controls or infected carriers. The adherence of C. albicans to buccal epithelial cells was not significantly different in a given saliva, regardless of whether the assay was carried out with autologous C. albicans and epithelial cells or with a stock strain in a standardized assay. Therefore, the standard assay was used to study the effects of specific salivary antibodies on adherence. A significant inverse correlation was found between salivary IgA anti-candida antibodies and the adherence of C. albicans to buccal epithelial cells, suggesting that IgA antibodies can inhibit adherence of candida to the oral mucosa. In some instances, removal of antibodies led to a significant increase in adherence; however, often this was not the case, indicating that some but not all of the antibodies present were capable of inhibiting the adherence of C. albicans to epithelial cells.