Abstract: Objective To study the morphological,biologic response of cultured human keratin ocytes to Candida albicans and the molecular mechanism.Methods ① A yeast form of C. albicans was added to a monolayer of keratinocytes.The adherent organisms were observed by scanning and transmission electron microscope at different incubation periods. Boiled C. albicans and latex beads of a similar size(3.2μm) were also inoculated for comparison.② The effect of supernatant from the coculture of keratinocytes with intact C. albicans on keratinocyte growth was measured by the fluorescence intensity and cell count.③ Keratinocytes were incubated with C. albicans or latex beads,and the level of cytok ine in the keratinocytes and supernatant were measured with enzymelinked im munosorbent assay kits.Results ① The number of adherent C. albicans increased with the lapse of time,while boiled C. albicans did not adhere at all.Many latex beads adhered to the keratinocytes,and were then easily phagocytised.Fibril-like structures stretched from the keratinocytes adhered to the organisms or latex beads.② The conditioned medium of 50% concen tration significantly promote cell growth,while that with boiled C. albicans or latex beads moderately stimulated keratinocyte growth.③ Keratinocytes treated with intact C. albicans had significantly higher level of IL-1α in the supernatant but lower in the cell extract.Both TGF-α and bFGF increased either in the media or in the extract.Conclusion These Results suggest that keratinocytes have nonspecific phagocytic activity. C. albicans are able to adhere to keratinocytes and stimulate the release of various cytokines from keratinocytes,which may induce an inflammatory reaction and cell growth.

Key words: Interactions, Candida albicans, Keratinocytes