CHARACTERISTICS OF C ALBICANS STRAINS RESISTANT TO POLYENIC ANTIBIOTICS

A resistant strain R2 of C. albicans obtained as a result of passages on media containing increasing concentrations of amphotericin B differed from the initial strain by its lower pathogenicity. Treatment of the infection caused by the resistant strain on candidiasis in mice was not successful. The decrease in the average life span of the mice infected with the resistant strain R2 and treated with amphotericin B was lower than that in the control animals and such indices of the disease as the levels of the kidney dissemination and the cell vegetation even increased under the effect of amphotericin B. The resistant strain R2 of C. albicans depends on the amphotericin B level in the host. The data obtained emphasize the necessity of determining the antibiotic sensitivity of C. albicans strains isolated from patients.