Adherence of Candida albicans to human vaginal epithelial cells: inhibition by amino sugars.

In vitro adherence of Candida albicans to human vaginal epithelial cells was studied, aimed at identifying the surface components involved in this binding. The inhibitory effect of yeast cell wall components and their constituents on the adherence of yeasts to epithelial cells was tested. Only chitin, its hydrolysate derivative and N-acetylglucosamine, the constituent of chitin, acted as inhibitors. Binding was also inhibited by the amino sugars glucosamine and mannosamine, while none of the other sugars tested (methylated or nonmethylated) exhibited such an effect. These data suggest that the amino groups of sugars are responsible for the inhibition of adherence of this eucaryotic microorganism to epithelial cells.