Candida albicans induces the release of inflammatory mediators from human peripheral blood monocytes

Candida albicans (C. albicans) is a major nosocomial pathogen. We examined arachidonic acid (AA) and cytokine production by monocytes stimulated with C. albicans. [14C]-AA labeled monocytes released 8.9 +/- 2.3% of the incorporated AA following stimulation with live C. albicans (C. albicans: monocyte of 16:1) (P = 0.0002). Prior studies indicate that soluble alpha-mannans and beta-glucans antagonize mannose and beta-glucan receptors, respectively. Preincubation of monocytes with alpha-mannan (100 micrograms/ml) caused 45.8 +/- 5.7% inhibition of [14C]-AA release, whereas beta-glucan (100 micrograms/ml) yielded 43.7 +/- 6.0% inhibition (P < 0.05 for each compared to control). Additionally, monocytes stimulated with C. albicans also released interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). However, alpha-mannan or beta-glucan failed to inhibit IL-1 beta release. These data indicate that C. albicans induces monocytes to release AA and inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, AA, but not cytokine liberation, is partially mediated by alpha-mannan and beta-glucan components of the fungus.