Ka. Andrutis et al., Intestinal lesions associated with disseminated candidiasis in an experimental animal model, J CLIN MICR, 38(6), 2000, pp. 2317-2323
In human patients, disseminated candidiasis, a life-threatening disease for
immunocompromised patients, is often associated with intestinal lesions, I
n this study, we demonstrate that immunosuppressed gnotobiotic (IGB) piglet
s orally inoculated with wild-type Candida albicans developed extensive int
estinal lesions and disseminated infection. Severe ulceration of the ileal
mucosa was observed overlying regions of colonization and necrosis of the g
ut-associated lymphoid tissue. Despite the high susceptibility of IGB pigle
ts to many microbial pathogens, an avirulent mutant strain of C. albicans f
ailed to produce intestinal lesions and exhibited poor dissemination, demon
strating that these effects required virulent organisms. It is likely that
in IGB piglets, as in human patients, intestinal lesions provide the mechan
ism for escape of C, albicans from the gastrointestinal tract, Multinucleat
ed giant cells containing fungal organisms were observed within lymph nodes
and lymphatic vessels, and as with other pathogens, such cells could provi
de a mechanism for dissemination of C. albicans.