FIG 8 .

Attenuated virulence of the C. albicans nce102Δ mutant in a mouse model of hematogenously disseminated candidiasis. BALB/c mice were injected via the lateral tail vein with 1 × 10⁶ cells. (A) Survival curves of mice infected with the nce102Δ (YHXW14), wild-type (DIC185), and complemented nce102Δ + NCE102 (YLD78-4-2-1) strains. (B) Determination of CFU per gram of kidney tissue in mice that were euthanized when they became moribund or at the end of the experiment on day 28, as indicated in panel A. (C) (Left panels) Kidneys were excised from mice infected with the wild-type (DIC185) and complemented nce102Δ + NCE102 (YLD78-4-2-1) strains for 2 days, and a mouse was infected with the nce102Δ (YHXW14) strain that became moribund after 12 days. Kidney sections were stained by the periodic acid-Schiff staining (PAS) staining method, which stains the C. albicans cells a dark magenta color (see the arrows for examples). Kidney tissue infected with the wild-type or complemented strains demonstrated a high level of penetration by hyphal filaments emanating from multiple sites in the outer cortex. In contrast, nce102Δ cells were mostly restricted to the region of the kidney that exits to the bladder (right panels). Kidney tissue homogenates were stained with calcofluor white and then examined by fluorescence microscopy using a 100× objective. The nce102Δ mutant cells displayed a more pseudohyphal morphology than either the wild-type or complemented strain.