Author(s)

Akira Fukatsu^1*, Osamu Tsuzukibashi¹, Mana Fuchigami¹, Yoshinori Ono², Satoshi Uchibori³, Yuji Takahashi⁴, Chiaki Komine¹, Koji Umezawa⁵, Sachiyo Hayashi⁵, Takashi Asano³, Taira Kobayashi³, Masanobu Wakami³, Hiroshi Murakami⁴, Masahiko Fukumoto¹

¹Department of Laboratory Medicine for Dentistry for the Compromised Patient, Nihon University, School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Chiba, Japan.
²Department of Laboratory Medicine for Dentistry, Nihon University Graduate School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Chiba, Japan.
³Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Chiba, Japan.
⁴Department of Special Needs Dentistry, Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Chiba, Japan.
⁵Department of Oral Implantology, Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo, Chiba, Japan.

Purpose: Candida albicans is regarded as a part of normal flora in the human oral cavity. However, it remains unclear whether the genus Candida, especially C. albicans, is an oral resident microorganism and causes marital infection or not. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the origin of oral C. albicans by investigating the colonization and infection route to oral cavities of this organism with arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR). Methods: After C. albicans was isolated from four subjects (average age: 42.2, range: 33 - 56), the isolations of this organism from them were performed six months later again. To investigate whether C. albicans is an oral resident microorganism, the genotype homology of each C. albicans isolates that were isolated twice from the same subjects was compared. Moreover, C. albicans was isolated from five pairs of married couples (average period of cohabitation: 12.4 years, range: 5 - 31). To investigate whether C. albicans causes marital infection, the genotype homology of C. albicans isolates that were isolated from each pair of married couples was compared. Results: AP-PCR patterns of C. albicans that were isolated from each subject at o month and after 6 months showed the identical genotypes among each individual. C. albicans isolates from five pairs of married couples showed the identical genotypes between a husband and wife of each pair on AP-PCR. Conclusion: These results indicated that C. albicans was an oral resident microorganism and caused the marital infection.

Candida albicans, Oral Cavity, AP-PCR, Genotyping

Fukatsu, A. , Tsuzukibashi, O. , Fuchigami, M. , Ono, Y. , Uchibori, S. , Takahashi, Y. , Komine, C. , Umezawa, K. , Hayashi, S. , Asano, T. , Kobayashi, T. , Wakami, M. , Murakami, H. and Fukumoto, M. (2022) Origin of Candida albicans in Human Oral Cavity. Open Journal of Stomatology, 12, 137-145. doi: 10.4236/ojst.2022.124014.