Adherence of Candida albicans to buccal epithelial cells of newborn infants was studied by the visual adherence method. Forty-five samples of buccal epithelial cells were obtained from 21 normal newborns at different times following delivery. In group I (mean age 7.5 hr) 367 _+ 51 yeast cells adhered to 100 epithelial cells. In group 2 (mean age 2.3 days) 384 _+ 36 yeast cells adhered to 100 cells. In group 3 (mean age 6.2 days) 488 _+ 57 yeast cells adhered to 100 cells.
Differences among the groups were not significant (p > 0.1). A significant difference was found in the percentage of epithelial cells binding 10 yeast cells between group 1 (7.25 _+ 0.9) and group 3 (14.9 _ 2.5), and group 2 (8.0 _+ 2.0) and group 3 (p ~< 0.025). In 12 infants studied twice at mean age of 2.1 and 6.3 days (included in groups 2 and 3) a significant increase was found in the number of adherent yeasts binding to 100 epithelial cells (330 _+ 87 and 485 _+ 52 respectively) (p ~< 0.03), and in the percentage of epithelial cells binding ~> l0 yeast cells (5.0 _+ 3.0 and 14.7 _+ 3.5 respectively, p ~< 0.004) for each infant.
The age-related increased affinity of buccal epithelial cells to Candida albicans may have relevance in the development of oral thrush.