INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY TO CANDIDA ALBICANS : A NEW VIEW OF AN OLD PARADIGM

of infection and its pathology. In the case of infection with low-virulence C. albicans, susceptibility and resistance to primary and secondary disseminated infections vary among the different inbred strains of mice. C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice are resistant to primary infection and acquire resistance to reinfection, while C3H/HeJ and CBA/J mice show moderate resistance to primary and secondary infections. In contrast, DBA/2, 129/Sv/Ev, and SJL mice are highly susceptible to primary infection. This genetically determined resistance and susceptibility to infection has been found to correlate with the balance occurring between specific CD4+ Th1 and Th2 responses [5-10]. The predominance of Th1 cell responses leads to resistance and onset of protective immunity, while Th2 responses are associated with disease exacerbation and pathology. Cytokines produced by Th1 cells activate neu