Binding of salivary or serum proteins to Candida albicans in vitro.

This binding was investigated with a simplified method: whole saliva and mucin bound to C. albicans in significantly greater quantities than other proteins such as whole serum, albumin, lysozyme or fibrinogen; and the enzymatic treatment of C. albicans with chymotrypsin, papain or mannosidase decreased the amounts of these proteins bound. These results, taken together, suggest that salivary proteins or mucin may bind to the mannoprotein of C. albicans.