For a protective antibody to help the host, it must be present prior to the invasion by C. albicans . Cutler and his colleagues speculate that in some people these kinds of antibodies are present as a result of prior exposure to the fungus. The adhesin complex involved in the attachment of the fungal cell to the host is very large. Antibodies can attach specifically to very small parts of the complex. The host defeats the fungus by developing antibodies against 'the correct' parts of the adhesin complex, Cutler said.
All people are likely to have the fungus as a member of the normal flora from time to time.
In women, these fungi sometimes invade the vaginal epithelium and cause yeast infections, but usually they do no harm in the vaginal tract. When we become immunodeficient, however, the fungus can cause skin disease or become deep-seeded in organs. It can even go to the brain. People who are going to be at high risk of developing serious conditions due to C. albicans could in the future receive a vaccine that induces production of protective antibodies, Cutler said. Cutler hopes to conduct clinical trials of the candidate vaccine he and his colleagues have developed.