Niacin Limitation Promotes Adhesion to Abiotic Surfaces.

is a prevalent fungal pathogen in humans, which is able to adhere to host cells and abiotic surfaces. Nicotinic acid (NA) limitation has been shown to promote the adherence of to human epithelial cells. Clinically, the elderly and hospitalized patients who are prone to -related denture stomatitis often suffer from vitamin deficiency. This study aimed to investigate adhesion to abiotic surfaces, including acrylic resin (a denture material) surfaces, cell surface hydrophobicity and adhesion gene expression. CBS138 was grown in media containing decreasing NA concentrations (40, 0.4, 0.04 and 0.004 µM). Adherence of to glass coverslips and acrylic resin was analyzed. adhesion to both surfaces generally increased with decreasing NA concentrations. The highest adhesion was found for the cells grown with 0.004 µM NA. The cell surface hydrophobicity test indicated that NA limitation enhanced hydrophobicity of cells. Quantitative PCR showed that of all adhesion genes tested, , and were significantly up-regulated in both 0.004 µM NA and 0.04 µM NA groups compared to those in the 40 µM NA group. No significant up- or down-regulation under NA limitation was observed for the other tested adhesion genes, namely , , and . NA limitation resulted in increased expression of some adhesion genes, higher surface hydrophobicity of and enhanced adhesion to abiotic surfaces. NA deficiency is likely a risk factor for -related denture stomatitis in the elderly.