The pathogenesis of ascending Candida pyelonephritis has been histologically and bacteriologically studied in female rats which were transurethrally inoculated into the bladder with a
Candida albicans strain, ATCC 10259. Serum concentration of D-arabinitol, a major metabolite of Candida species, was determined by gas-liquid chromatography to evaluate the usefulness in the diagnosis of Candida pyelonephritis. An experimental model of the ascending pyelonephritis was devised by the following procedures; cyclophosphamide was transperitoneally administrated at an amount of 200mg per kg of rat weight to suppress the host defence mechanism, and then, to induce a chemical cystitis, 0.5ml of a 0.75% acetic acid solution was transurethrally instilled into the bladder 2 days later, and on the next day a dose of 10
7 cells of
C. albicans was inoculated into the bladder transurethrally. Six groups of 15 rats were sacrificed 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after inoculation, respectively. Out of the total of 180 kidneys, 116 which were uncontaminated with any bacterium, were used for this study. The results obtained are as follows:
1. The incidence of Candida pyelonephritis was 29.7% (11 of 37 kidneys) within 3 days after inoculation and 78.5% (62 of 79 kidneys) for the period from 7 to 28 days after inoculation. In the 11 kidneys, acute inflammatory changes which partly extended into the medulla were observed, and 5 of the 11 kidneys were accompanied with papillary necrosis. The 62 kidneys revealed mild chronic inflammatory changes, localized mainly along with the pelvis, and Candida bezoars were found in 15 kidneys of the 62 kidneys.
2. There were significant relationships between renal Candida populations and grades of renal histological change except for the group of 3 days after inoculation.
3. There was a significant relationship between renal and urinary Candida populations (p<0.01). Candida pyelonephritis occurred in 26 of 30 rats (86.7%) which had more than 10 colony-forming units of
C. albicans in their urine. The higher the urinary Candida population, the more severe the histological change
4. Serum D-arabinitol levels exceeded 0.2μg/ml of the detection limit only in rat groups within 3 days after inoculation. The mean serum concentration of D-arabinitol was 1.65μg/ml in rats with disseminated candidiasis, while it was 0.55μg/ml in rats with localized urinary tract candidiasis.
From these results, this experimental model was considered to be useful in the study of ascending pyelonephritis due to
C. albicans. Furthermore, the determination of the number of Candida cells in urine and serum concentrations of D-arabinitol can be adopted for the diagnosis of Candida pyelonephritis and systemic candidiasis.
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