RESPONSE OF MICE TO THE INOCULATIONS OF BOTHCANDIDA ALBICANSANDESCHERICHIA COLII

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Abstract
Living E. coli inhibited the in vitro growth of C. albicans, whereas dead E. coli had no such effect. Prior injection of a nonlethal concentration of living E. coli protected mice against a lethal concentration of C. albicans. Intraperi-toneal inoculation of nonlethal concentrations of living E. coli after the intravenous injection of a lethal concentration of C. albicans produced 2 contrary effects dependent on the concentration of E. coli and the time interval between inoculations: (1) protective [long dash]significant delay in the mean time of death as compared to that of C. albicans alone; (2) enhancing [long dash]a significant decrease in the mean time of death from that of the C. albicans controls. Similar inoculation of dead E. coli showed only the enhancing effect. As little as 1.0 [mu]g of the "O" lipopolysaccharide extracted from E. coli by the Boivin technique was enhancing when injected intraperitoneally, after the intravenous inoculation of a lethal concentration of C. albicans. The enhancement effect was apparently caused by the toxemia due to the endotoxin of E. coli.