Commensal colonization of <i>Candida albicans</i> in the mouse gastrointestinal tract is mediated via expression of candidalysin and adhesins.

ABSTRACT: The ubiquitous fungal pathogen Candida albicans has the potential to either asymptomatically colonize the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or become an invasive pathogen through mechanisms that remain incompletely understood. Here we explored the fungal, host, and environmental factors that influence the ability of C. albicans to colonize the mouse GI tract using a representative clinical strain, CLCA10. After a single gavage challenge (5 × 10⁶ CFU C. albicans), specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice remained colonized with C. albicans strain CLCA10, but not other Candida species, for at least 58 days with the fungus confined largely to the gut luminal contents. Colonized mice exhibited no weight loss or other signs of active infection, and

SUBMITTER: Mauk KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12403622 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature