Gastrointestinal Candida colonisation promotes sensitisation against food antigens by affecting mucosal barrier in mice

Natsu Yamaguchi ¹, Ryusuke Sugita ¹, Atsuko Miki ¹, Naoki Takemura ¹, Jun Kawabata ¹, Jun Watanabe ² and Kei Sonoyama ^1*

¹ Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Japan
² Creative Research Initiative, Japan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ksnym{at}chem.agr.hokudai.ac.jp.

Accepted 31 December 2005

Abstract

Backgrounds & Aims: It is controversial whether gastrointestinal colonization by Candida albicans contributes to the aggravation of atopic dermatitis. We hypothesized that Candida colonization promotes food allergy, which is known to contribute to a pathogenic response in atopic dermatitis. We tested it using a recently established murine Candida colonization model.

Methods: Candida colonization in the gastrointestinal tract was established by an intragastric inoculation with C. albicans in mice fed a synthetic diet. To investigate the sensitization against food antigen, mice were intragastrically administered with ovalbumin every other day for nine weeks, and anti- ovalbumin antibody titers were measured weekly. To examine the gastrointestinal permeation of food antigen, plasma concentrations of ovalbumin were measured following an intragastric administration of ovalbumin.

Results: Ovalbumin-specific IgG and IgE titers were higher in BALB/c mice with Candida colonization than in normal mice. The gastrointestinal permeation of ovalbumin was enhanced by the colonization in BALB/c mice. Histological examination showed that the colonization promotes the degranulation of mast cells. Candida colonization did not enhance ovalbumin permeation in mast cell-deficient W/W^v mice, but did in congenic littermate control +/+ mice. Reconstitution of mast cells in W/W^v mice by transplantation of bone marrow-derived mast cells recovered the ability to increase ovalbumin permeation in response to Candida colonization.

Conclusions: These results suggest that gastrointestinal Candida colonization promotes sensitization against food antigens at least partly due to mast cell-mediated hyperpermeability in gastrointestinal mucosa of mice.

Keywords: Candida albicans, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, mast cells

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