Resumen:
andida albicans is an important source of device-associated infection because of its capacity for biofilm formation. This yeast has the ability to form biofilms which favors the persistence of the infection. Furthermore, the innate immune response has a critical role in the control of these infections and macrophages (Mø) are vital to this process. An important fungicidal mechanism employed by Mø involves the generation of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI). The interaction between biofilms and these immune cells, and the contribution of oxidative and nitrosative stress, that is determinant to the course of the infection, remains elusive. The aim of this study was to investigate this interaction. To this purpose, two models of Mø-biofilms contact, early (model 1) and mature (model 2) biofilms, were used; and the production of ROS, RNI and the oxidative stress response (OSR) were evaluated. We found that the presence of Mø decreased the biofil