The in vitro lysozyme susceptibility of Candida albicans cultured in carbohydrate-supplemented media.

Abstract

The in vitro lysozyme susceptibility of three oral isolates of Candida albicans cultured in carbohydrate-supplemented media was studied. Lysozyme was shown to have a dose- and time-dependent killing effect on C. albicans isolates. Fungicidal activity persisted to varying degrees when yeast isolates were cultured in a variety of carbohydrates (glucose, galactose, sucrose, maltose, xylitol and lactose) before exposure to 20 micrograms/ml lysozyme. Sucrose and galactose grown yeasts exhibited increased resistance to lysozyme compared with (in decreasing order) those grown in glucose, maltose, xylitol or lactose. Further, the C. albicans isolates tested demonstrated strain variations in their susceptibility to lysozyme. These results suggest that dietary carbohydrate may play a role in modulating the yeast cell populations in the oral cavity by altering the fungal susceptibility to salivary lysozyme.