Reduced inhibition of Candida albicans adhesion by saliva from patients receiving oral cancer therapy

Abstract

The effect of saliva on the adhesion of Candida albicans to epithelial cells was examined in vitro by using saliva from healthy controls and patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. The adhesion of C. albicans to established epithelial tumor cells was reduced by 40% by salivary treatment of the C. albicans or epithelial cells. The inhibitory activity of saliva was almost completely abolished by anti-secretory immunoglobulin A antibody, concanavalin A, and mannose. Compared with saliva from healthy individuals, that from patients who had received chemoradiotherapy for oral carcinoma showed reduced suppression of C. albicans adhesion, which accompanied decreased salivary secretory immunoglobulin A and lactoferrin concentrations. A greater number of C. albicans cells adhered to buccal cells obtained from patients who had received chemoradiotherapy than to those from healthy individuals. Treatment of either epithelial cells or C. albicans with anticancer drugs induced an increase in adherence of epithelial cells and yeast cells. In contrast, concanavalin A- and mannose-pretreated C. albicans exhibited reduced adhesion to epithelial cells. No further decrease of C. albicans adhesion was observed when both epithelial cells and yeast phase C. albicans were treated with mannose. In conclusion, the inhibition of C. albicans adhesion by saliva depends largely on mannose residues on salivary glycoproteins and mannose is one of the binding ligands on both C. albicans and epithelial cells. In addition, anticancer therapy may induce oral C. albicans overgrowth by decreasing salivation and the concentrations of glycoproteins in saliva inhibiting C. albicans adhesion and by increasing the adhesive properties of both C. albicans and oral epithelial cells.