Innate and acquired immune responses against Candida albicans in congenic B10.D2 mice with deficiency of the C5 complement component.

Congenic mice, sufficient or deficient with respect to the C5 component of complement, were evaluated for their innate and acquired immune responses to Candida albicans. When unimmunized mice were challenged intravenously and sacrificed at intervals for cultural analyses of kidneys, it was clear that C5-sufficient mice were able to deal more effectively with C. albicans during the first week after challenge than C5-deficient mice. When immunized mice were challenged intravenously to assess the development of protective responses, an intact complement cascade appeared to contribute to the more rapid clearance of fungi during the first few weeks following challenge, but by the fourth week after challenge, the numbers of fungi had decreased significantly in both types of mice and were at levels which were not significantly different. No significant differences were detected in the development of delayed hypersensitivity or Candida-specific antibody between C5-sufficient and C5-deficient mice either. C5-deficient mice did have slightly elevated levels over the C5+ mice, but this may simply reflect the prolonged antigenic load during the first 3 weeks following intravenous challenge in both immune and nonimmune animals. The later-acting complement components, while appearing to contribute to the early inhibition of the growth of C. albicans in the nonimmune animal, had no adverse effect on the development of specific immune responses, in that delayed hypersensitive responses were equivalent between the two groups, antibody response was not significantly altered and the ultimate outcome of challenge in immunized animals was not affected.