Significance of Determinants for Antigen 6 in Mannan of Candida albicans Serotype A in Adherence to Various Types of Human Epithelial Cell Lines

抄録

We have previously shown the importance of the determinant of antigen 6 in the adherence of Candida albicans serotype A (C. albicans A) to epithelial cells using a human mouth squamous cell line as a target. In this study, we investigated the adherance of C. albicans A to epithelial cells other than buccal cells to generalize the role of the antigen 6 determinant in the adherence; three antigenic mutants of C. albicans A were used, which had lost the reactivity with a monoclonal antibody against antigen 6 (MAb-6), and their spontaneous revertants. The adhesive ability of these mutants to all types of epithelial cells used was shown to be markedly lower than that of the parent, while the adhesive ability of the revertants which partially recovered agglutinability with MAb-6 was intermediate between those of the parent and the mutants. On the other hand, strains of C. albicans serotype B, C. stellatoidea, and C. guilliermondii, all of which lack the antigen 6 recognized by MAb-6, showed significantly lower adherence ability to all the human epithelial cell lines used than did C. albicans A, which bears antigen 6. These results suggest that so far as mannan side chain is concerned, serotype A-specific antigen 6 in the mannan plays a significant role in adherence to various types of human epithelial cells.