Open AccessOpsonic effect of C‐reactive protein on phagocytosis and intracellular killing of virulent and attenuated strains of Candida albicans by human neutrophils
Author(s) -
Richardson Malcolm D.,
Gray Carolyn A.,
Shankland Gillian S.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1991.tb04259.x
Subject(s) - phagocytosis , microbiology and biotechnology , opsonin , candida albicans , virulence , intracellular , antibody opsonization , biology , chemistry , biochemistry , gene
Summary In the presence of autologous complement, maximal phagocytosis of Candida albicans blastospores of both a virulent and attenuated strain by human neutrophils in a monolayer assay was achieved after 30 min. The proportion of phagocytes containing intracellular blastospores was 33–36% with an average of 1.5 blastospores per phagocyte. In contrast to the attenuated strain of C. albicans , the virulent strain resisted opsonization by C‐reactive protein (CRP) and of those blastospores ingested, only 8% were killed. These findings support the concept that CRP may play a protective role in candidosis independent of complement. The fate of strains of different virulence may be a result of differences in CRP receptors or killing mechanisms.