Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus and generally grows in hyphal form in RPMI1640 medium. However, addition of N-acetylneuraminic acid inhibited the hyphal growth. The expression of CGR1 mRNA in C. albicans was inhibited by addition of N-acetylneuraminic acid. Diltiazem, a calcium channel blocker, inhibited the yeast to hyphal transformation in C. albicans as well as addition of N-acetylneuraminic acid. These results indicated that inhibition of hyphal growth of C. albicans by N-acetylneuraminic acid was mediated by interruption of CGR1 mRNA expression
