Open AccessMechanism underlying renal failure caused by pathogenic Candida albicans infection
Author(s) -
JaeChen Shin,
YoungJoo Jeon,
SeonMin Park,
Kang Seok Seo,
JungHyun Shim,
JungIl Chae
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
biomedical reports
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.607
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2049-9442
pISSN - 2049-9434
DOI - 10.3892/br.2014.393
Subject(s) - candida albicans , virulence , corpus albicans , biology , tumor necrosis factor alpha , microbiology and biotechnology , virulence factor , kidney , immunology , endocrinology , biochemistry , gene
Candida albicans (C. albicans) is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that commonly causes nosocomial infections. Systemic candidiasis is encountered with increasing frequency in immunocompromised hosts, leading to renal failure that results in severe morbidity and mortality. The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying kidney susceptibility following infection with several C. albicans strains, such as B311 and SC5314. Fungal growth of the highly virulent SC5314 strain was 10 3 -fold higher compared to the nonpathogenic B311 strain in the kidneys. An intravenous challenge of SC5314 in mice, elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatine levels, which resulted in mortality at 8 or 35 days after infection in a dose- and time-dependent manner, whereas all the B311-infected mice had BUN and creatinine levels in the normal range and survived. Whether virulent C. albicans may escape clearance by activating signaling pathways that lead to the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β, was investigated. B311 infections significantly elevated TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA expression in the kidneys, whereas the expression in SC5314-infected mice remained unchanged. Furthermore, B311 infection significantly elevated the plasma levels of TNF-α and IL-1β. These results indicated that the less virulent strains of C. albicans induced pro-inflammatory cytokines in mice. These results determined that an impairment of the protective mechanisms occurred in the kidneys with virulent C. albicans infection.