·
C. albicans is part of
the normal flora of the gastrointestinal tract, mouth, and genital surfaces.
Notwithstanding, C. albicans causes severe disease
particularly in those patients with compromised immunity. It is generally
thought that when C. albicans is unable to adhere to
mucosa it is nonpathogenic and that production of germ tubes or hyphae
plays a major role in colonization and infection of the mucosal epithelial
cells by allowing direct penetration of these cells with specific hydrolytic
enzymes. While other mutations such as temperature intolerance,
metabolic alterations, and structural substitutions may affect the ability of
Candida to survive, these changes would not affect adherence.
No comments:
Post a Comment