Experimental candidiasis in iron overload

In an attempt to study the influence of iron overload on deep mycotic infection, experimental candidiasis was induced in mice. One group received intravenous injections of colloidal iron (60 mg/kg weight) for three consecutive days before intravenous inoculation of Candida albicans spores (1 X 10(7). The other received the same number of Candida spores without iron overload. The animals in both groups were observed for 28 days. The Candida lesions, regardless of iron administration, were located mainly in the kidney. There was a marked difference in mortality between the two groups, i.e., 40% in the group without iron administration and 80% in the group with it. The higher mortality rate in the latter group may be explained by following reasons: increased serum iron and iron saturation (iron is essential to the growth of Candida), decreased phagocytic activity against intravenously inoculated Candida because of the saturation of the phagocytic cells by the preceding colloidal iron administration and enhanced proliferation of Candida, which tends to involve the kidney, exposed to abundant iron in the kidney due to increased excretion. The current experiment showed that excessive iron clearly promoted the proliferation of intravenously inoculated Candida in vivo.