Candida albicans (Ca) is a ubiquitous opportunistic fungus responsible for many variants of oral candidiasis. Production of proinflammatory cytokines by host cells in response to Ca infection is likely to have a major impact in the activation of immune effector cells, but the role of human gingival epithelial cells (HGEC) in this process is ill understood. Hence the aim of this study was to determine the production of proinflammatory cytokines by HGEC in response to Ca infection, especially the part played by fungal cell-wall components in the production of interleuin-8 (IL-8), a well known neutrophil chemoattractant. HGEC isolated from human gingival tissue were cultured in the presence of Ca (10⁵ cells/ml) for up to 12 h and, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α secretions were analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 3 h intervals. Expression of mRNA encoding IL-8 was also quantified by real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analysis. In addition, the cellular IL-8 induction in the presence of i) heat-killed Ca (10⁷ cells/ml), ii) extracted membrane proteins from Ca and iii) yeast cell α-mannan (1 mg/ml) was examined by ELISA and real-time RT-PCR. When the cellular response to Ca was analyzed, a significant increase in IL-8 secretion was observed with ELISA after 9 h incubation (ANOVA; p<0.01). Concurrently, increased expression of mRNA encoding IL-8, confirmed by real-time RT-PCR, was noted. In contrast, the secretion of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α did not increase significantly. When heat-killed Ca, extracted membrane proteins, or α-mannan were introduced into HGEC culture, significant increases in IL-8 secretion (ANOVA; p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.01, respectively) with concomitant mRNA expression were observed. These results suggest that HGEC upregulates IL-8 expression in response to Ca infection, and fungal cell components such as membrane proteins and α-mannnan are likely to be associated with the such cellular responses.