Studies on Animal Models for Candidiasis

Abstract

Experiments were designed to establish the suitable models for the study of experimental candidiasis. Following three results were obtained from the present study. First, mice were inoculated intratracheally with Candida albicans to induce lung candidiasis. All mice died within 6 days after intratracheal inoculation with more than 7.5×10⁶ CFU of C. albicans. Second, rats were infected intravenously with C. albicans after a polyethylene catheter was placed in the left ventricle through the right carotid artery. The catheterized rats died from endocarditis when they were infected with a small number of C. albicans which were not enough to kill normal rats. Third, effectiveness of the immunization with γ-irradiated candida cells against the infection was confirmed in those two models. This fact indicates that those new models are useful for basic research on experimental candidiasis.