Relationship Between Virulence Factor Activities, Cytotoxicity of Candida albicans Strains Isolated from Oral Cavity, and Cytokine Production by Oral Keratinocytes Exposed to Those Strains

TL;DR

This study explores how different strains of Candida albicans affect oral cells and cytokine production, finding strong links between cytotoxicity and specific immune responses.

Contribution

The study identifies specific correlations between C. albicans cytotoxicity and cytokine production by oral keratinocytes, revealing new insights into immune responses.

Findings

Cytotoxicity of C. albicans strains positively correlates with IL-1β and IL-8 production by oral keratinocytes.

No significant correlations were found between biofilm formation, phospholipase production, and cytokine levels.

IL-8 shows positive correlations with CXCL1 and GM-CSF, suggesting possible shared signaling pathways.

Abstract

Objectives: Oral candidiasis is commonly caused by Candida albicans, which possesses virulence factors and shows cytotoxic activity that affects oral keratinocytes. On the other hand, oral keratinocytes are known to induce immune responses against C. albicans infection. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships of various cytokines produced from oral keratinocytes with virulence factor activities and cytotoxicity of C. albicans strains. Methods: Following the determination of the amounts of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α, CCL20, CXCL1, GM-CSF) produced by oral keratinocytes when exposed to 87 different C. albicans strains, relationships of the amounts of those cytokines from oral keratinocytes with biofilm formation, phospholipase production, and C. albicans cytotoxicity were examined using Spearman correlation analysis. Results: Positive correlations of the amount of IL-8 with CXCL1 (rs = 0.295, p = 0.0055) and IL-1β (rs = 0.35, p = 0.0009) were noted, while a positive correlation was also found between amounts of GM-CSF and IL-8 (rs = 0.306, p = 0.004), as well as IL-1β (rs = 0.38, p = 0.0003). In contrast, there were no significant correlations among biofilm formation, phospholipase production, or amounts of various cytokines produced by oral keratinocytes. Furthermore, a positive correlation was noted between cytotoxicity to oral keratinocytes and amounts of IL-1β (rs = 0.736, p < 0.0001) and IL-8 (rs = 0.371, p = 0.0004). Conclusions: The differential cytotoxicity of various C. albicans strains has an influence on the production of specific cytokines from oral keratinocytes. Additionally, cytokines produced by oral keratinocytes may be mutually involved with similar signaling activation and/or autocrine/paracrine functions.

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