[Experimental study of the effect of corticosteroid preparations on the adhesion of Candida genus fungi to the epitheliocytes of mucous membranes].

The effect of corticosteroids on the adherence of Candida cells to epithelial cells was studied with the use of the original modification of the in vitro adherence assay. The administration of hydrocortisone acetate to mice resulted in the increased adherence of the pathogenic fungi to epithelial cells: after 10-day hormone treatment the adherence number and the adherence index increased, respectively, to 230% and 360% of control values. After 20-day treatment these characteristics increased, respectively, to 260% and 700%. The adherence of C. albicans to vaginal epithelial cells in female mice receiving corticosteroids increased in comparison with that in the control animals at estrus: the adherence number increased to 220% and the adherence index, to 470% of the level observed in the controls.