Clinical <i>Candida albicans</i> Vaginal Isolates and a Laboratory Strain Show Divergent Behaviors during Macrophage Interactions

Abstract

Vulvovaginal candidiasis is one of the most common fungal infections in humans with Candida albicans as the major causative agent. This study is the first to compare clinical vaginal isolates of defined patient groups in their interaction with macrophages, highlighting the vastly different outcomes in comparison to a laboratory strain using commonly applied virulence-determining assays.