Background: The deep-seated infections caused by the Candida genus are associated with a high mortality rate, and Candida albicans is the most frequent species associated with these diseases. The fungal wall is composed of macromolecules not synthesized by the host, and therefore is a source of ligands recognized by innate immune cells. Methods: We performed a comparative study analyzing the cell wall composition and organization of Candida tropicalis , Candida guilliermondii , Candida krusei , and Candida auri s, along with their ability to stimulate cytokine production and phagocytosis by human innate immune cells. Results: We found that the wall of these species had the basic components already described in C. albicans , with most of the chitin and b1,3-glucan located underneath the mannan layer. However, the walls of C. krusei and C. auris were rich in chitin and the former had a lower content of mannans. C. guilliermondii contained changes in the mannan and the b1,3-glucan levels. These species were differentially phagocytosed by human macrophages and stimulated cytokine production in a dectin-1-dependent pathway. C. krusei showed the most significant changes in the tested parameters, whereas C. auris behaved like C. albicans . Conclusion: Our results suggest that the cell wall and innate immune recognition of C. tropicalis , C. guilliermondii , C. krusei , and Candida auris is different from that reported for C. albicans .
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Navarro-Arias et al. (2019) studied this question.