The assimilation of different carbon sources in Candida albicans: Fitness and pathogenicity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Lok ◽  
Mowaffaq Adam Ahmad Adam ◽  
Laina Zarisa Mohd Kamal ◽  
Nwakpa Anthony Chukwudi ◽  
Rosline Sandai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Surface Hydrophobicity ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Infection Process ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mycelial Form ◽  
Cell Wall Biogenesis

Abstract Candida albicans is a commensal yeast commonly found on the skin and in the body. However, in immunocompromised individuals, the fungi could cause local and systemic infections. The carbon source available plays an important role in the establishment of C. albicans infections. The fungi's ability to assimilate a variety of carbon sources plays a vital role in its colonization, and by extension, its fitness and pathogenicity, as it often inhabits niches that are glucose-limited but rich in alternative carbon sources. A difference in carbon sources affect the growth and mating of C. albicans, which contributes to its pathogenicity as proliferation helps the fungi colonize its environment. The carbon source also affects its metabolism and signaling pathways, which are integral parts of the fungi's fitness and pathogenicity. As a big percentage of the carbon assimilated by C. albicans goes to cell wall biogenesis, the availability of different carbon sources will result in cell walls with variations in rigidity, adhesion, and surface hydrophobicity. In addition to the biofilm formation of the fungi, the carbon source also influences whether the fungi grow in yeast- or mycelial-form. Both forms play different roles in C. albicans’s infection process. A better understanding of the role of the carbon sources in C. albicans’s pathogenicity would contribute to more effective treatment solutions for fungal infections.

scholarly journals Targeting adhesion in fungal pathogen Candida albicans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harlei Martin ◽  
Kevin Kavanagh ◽  
Trinidad Velasco-Torrijos
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Infection Process ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Receptor Interactions ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Invasive Infections ◽  
Wall Components

Fungal infections with increasing resistance to conventional therapies are a growing concern. Candida albicans is a major opportunistic yeast responsible for mucosal and invasive infections. Targeting the initial step of the infection process (i.e., C. albicans adhesion to the host cell) is a promising strategy. A wide variety of molecules can interfere with adhesion processes via an assortment of mechanisms. Herein, we focus on how small molecules disrupt biosynthesis of fungal cell wall components and membrane structure, prevent the localization of GPI-anchor proteins, inhibit production of enzymes involved in adhesion, downregulate genes encoding adhesins and competitively inhibit receptor interactions. As a result, adhesion of C. albicans to host cells is reduced, paving the way to new classes of antifungal agents.

scholarly journals Aspergillus fumigatus acetate utilisation impacts virulence traits and pathogenicity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laure NA Ries ◽  
Patricia Alves de Castro ◽  
Lilian P Silva ◽  
Clara Valero ◽  
Thaila Fernanda dos Reis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Aspergillus Fumigatus ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
The Body ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Fungal Virulence ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Virulence Traits ◽  
Anti Fungal

Aspergillus fumigatus is a major opportunistic fungal pathogen of immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts. To successfully establish an infection, A. fumigatus needs to use host carbon sources, such as acetate, present in the body fluids and peripheral tissues. However, utilisation of acetate as a carbon source by fungi in the context of infection has not been investigated. This work shows that acetate is metabolised via different pathways in A. fumigatus and that acetate utilisation is under the regulatory control of a transcription factor (TF), FacB. A. fumigatus acetate utilisation is subject to carbon catabolite repression (CCR), although this is only partially dependent on the TF and main regulator of CCR CreA. The available extracellular carbon source, in this case glucose and acetate, significantly affected A. fumigatus virulence traits such as secondary metabolite secretion and cell wall composition, with the latter having consequences for resistance to oxidative stress, to anti-fungal drugs and to human neutrophil-mediated killing. Furthermore, deletion of facB significantly impaired the in vivo virulence of A. fumigatus in both insect and mammalian models of invasive aspergillosis. This is the first report on acetate utilisation in A. fumigatus and this work further highlights the importance of available host-specific carbon sources in shaping fungal virulence traits and subsequent disease outcome, and a potential target for the development of anti-fungal strategies.

scholarly journals Deletion of the ATP2 Gene in Candida albicans Blocks Its Escape From Macrophage Clearance

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yishan Zhang ◽  
Chuanyan Tang ◽  
Zhanpeng Zhang ◽  
Shuixiu Li ◽  
Yajing Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Drug Target ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Systemic Infection ◽  
Invasive Infection ◽  
First Line ◽  
Dramatic Decrease

Macrophages provide the first-line defense against invasive fungal infections and, therefore, escape from macrophage becomes the basis for the establishment of Candida albicans invasive infection. Here, we found that deletion of ATP2 (atp2Δ/Δ) in C. albicans resulted in a dramatic decrease from 69.2% (WT) to 1.2% in the escape rate in vitro. The effect of ATP2 on macrophage clearance stands out among the genes currently known to affect clearance. In the normal mice, the atp2Δ/Δ cells were undetectable in major organs 72 h after systemic infection, while WT cells persisted in vivo. However, in the macrophage-depleted mice, atp2Δ/Δ could persist for 72 h at an amount comparable to that at 24 h. Regarding the mechanism, WT cells sustained growth and switched to hyphal form, which was more conducive to escape from macrophages, in media that mimic the glucose-deficient environment in macrophages. In contrast, atp2Δ/Δ cells can remained viable but were unable to complete morphogenesis in these media, resulting in them being trapped within macrophages in the yeast form. Meanwhile, atp2Δ/Δ cells were killed by oxidative stress in alternative carbon sources by 2- to 3-fold more than WT cells. Taken together, ATP2 deletion prevents C. albicans from escaping macrophage clearance, and therefore ATP2 has a functional basis as a drug target that interferes with macrophage clearance.

scholarly journals Clinical Candida albicans Vaginal Isolates and a Laboratory Strain Show Divergent Behaviors during Macrophage Interactions

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Gerwien ◽  
Christine Dunker ◽  
Philipp Brandt ◽  
Enrico Garbe ◽  
Ilse D. Jacobsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Laboratory Strain ◽  
Infection Process ◽  
Vulvovaginal Candidiasis ◽  
Host Immune System ◽  
Host Pathogen Interactions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Host Pathogen

ABSTRACT Typically, established lab strains are widely used to study host-pathogen interactions. However, to better reflect the infection process, the experimental use of clinical isolates has come more into focus. Here, we analyzed the interaction of multiple vaginal isolates of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans, the most common cause of vulvovaginal candidiasis in women, with key players of the host immune system: macrophages. We tested several strains isolated from asymptomatic or symptomatic women with acute and recurrent infections. While all clinical strains showed a response similar to the commonly used lab strain SC5314 in various in vitro assays, they displayed remarkable differences during interaction with macrophages. This coincided with significantly reduced β-glucan exposure on the cell surface, which appeared to be a shared property among the tested vaginal strains for yeast extract/peptone/dextrose-grown cells, which is partly lost when the isolates faced vaginal niche-like nutrient conditions. However, macrophage damage, survival of phagocytosis, and filamentation capacities were highly strain-specific. These results highlight the high heterogeneity of C. albicans strains in host-pathogen interactions, which have to be taken into account to bridge the gap between laboratory-gained data and disease-related outcomes in an actual patient. IMPORTANCE Vulvovaginal candidiasis is one of the most common fungal infections in humans with Candida albicans as the major causative agent. This study is the first to compare clinical vaginal isolates of defined patient groups in their interaction with macrophages, highlighting the vastly different outcomes in comparison to a laboratory strain using commonly applied virulence-determining assays.

scholarly journals Carbon Catabolite Control in Candida albicans: New Wrinkles in Metabolism

mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Lorenz
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase ◽  
Isocitrate Lyase ◽  
Glyoxylate Cycle ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Catabolite Control

ABSTRACTMost microorganisms maintain strict control of nutrient assimilation pathways to ensure that they preferentially use compounds that generate the most energy or are most efficiently catabolized. In doing so, they avoid potentially inefficient conflicts between parallel catabolic and metabolic pathways. The regulation of carbon source utilization in a wide array of bacterial and fungal species involves both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms, and while the details can vary significantly, carbon catabolite control is widely conserved. In many fungi, the posttranslational aspect (carbon catabolite inactivation [CCI]) involves the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of catabolic enzymes for poor carbon sources when a preferred one (glucose) becomes available. A recent article presents evidence for a surprising exception to CCI in the fungal pathogenCandida albicans, an organism that makes use of gluconeogenic carbon sources during infection (D. Sandai, Z. Yin, L. Selway, D. Stead, J. Walker, M. D. Leach, I. Bohovych, I. V. Ene, S. Kastora, S. Budge, C. A. Munro, F. C. Odds, N. A. Gow, and A. J. Brown,mBio3[6]:e00495-12).In vitro, addition of glucose to cells grown in a poor carbon source rapidly represses transcripts encoding gluconeogenic and glyoxylate cycle enzymes, such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (Pck1p) and isocitrate lyase (Icl1p), in bothC. albicansandSaccharomyces cerevisiae. Yet, uniquely, theC. albicansproteins persist, permitting parallel assimilation of multiple carbon sources, likely because they lack consensus ubiquitination sites found in the yeast homologs. Indeed, the yeast proteins are rapidly degraded when expressed inC. albicans, indicating a conservation of the machinery needed for CCI. How this surprising metabolic twist contributes to fungal commensalism or pathogenesis remains an open question.

scholarly journals Growth of Candida albicans Cells on the Physiologically Relevant Carbon Source Lactate Affects Their Recognition and Phagocytosis by Immune Cells

2012 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iuliana V. Ene ◽  
Shih-Chin Cheng ◽  
Mihai G. Netea ◽  
Alistair J. P. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Carbon Source ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Phagocytic Cells ◽  
Content Type

Candida albicansis a normal resident of the human gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts and also a prevalent fungal pathogen. During both commensalism and infection, it must match the immunological defenses of its host while adapting to environmental cues and the local nutrient status.C. albicansregularly colonizes glucose-poor niches, thereby depending upon alternative carbon sources for growth. However, most studies of host immune responses toC. albicanshave been performed on fungal cells grown on glucose, and the extent to which alternative physiologically relevant carbon sources impact innate immune responses has not been studied. The fungal cell wall is decorated with multifarious pathogen-associated molecular patterns and is the main target for recognition by host innate immune cells. Cell wall architecture is both robust and dynamic, and it is dramatically influenced by growth conditions. We found that growth ofC. albicanscells on lactate, a nonfermentative carbon source available in numerous anatomical niches, modulates their interactions with immune cells and the resultant cytokine profile. Notably, lactate-grownC. albicansstimulated interleukin-10 (IL-10) production while decreasing IL-17 levels, rendering these cells less visible to the immune system than were glucose-grown cells. This trend was observed in clinicalC. albicansisolates from different host niches and from different epidemiological clades. In addition, lactate-grownC. albicanscells were taken up by macrophages less efficiently, but they were more efficient at killing and escaping these phagocytic cells. Our data indicate that carbon source has a major impact upon theC. albicansinteraction with the innate immune system.

scholarly journals The Interactions Between Candida albicans and Mucosal Immunity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujie Zhou ◽  
Lei Cheng ◽  
Yu L. Lei ◽  
Biao Ren ◽  
Xuedong Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Mucosal Immunity ◽  
Cytokine Production ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Immune Defense ◽  
The Body ◽  
Pathogen Invasion ◽  
Mucosal Infection ◽  
And Control

Mucosa protects the body against external pathogen invasion. However, pathogen colonies on the mucosa can invade the mucosa when the immunosurveillance is compromised, causing mucosal infection and subsequent diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to timely and effectively monitor and control pathogenic microorganisms through mucosal immunity. Candida albicans is the most prevalent fungi on the mucosa. The C. albicans colonies proliferate and increase their virulence, causing severe infectious diseases and even death, especially in immunocompromised patients. The normal host mucosal immune defense inhibits pathogenic C. albicans through stepwise processes, such as pathogen recognition, cytokine production, and immune cell phagocytosis. Herein, the current advances in the interactions between C. albicans and host mucosal immune defenses have been summarized to improve understanding on the immune mechanisms against fungal infections.

scholarly journals Pattern of Skin Diseases at Upazilla Level

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-11
Author(s):  
Abu Jafar Md Shahidul Hoq ◽  
Gazi Md Matiur Rahman ◽  
Fahmida Sultana ◽  
Mahmudul Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The Body ◽  
Polymorphic Light Eruption ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Primary Health Care Settings

Skin the largest organ in the human body plays a vital role in one's health care. This anatomical barrier regulates the body temperature and interface with the environment for protecting the body against pathogens. The type of skin problems varies in different geographical areas, climate, economic and other factors including personal characteristics such as age and sex. The pattern of skin diseases varies from one area to another and across different parts within the same country. A retrospective study was done among patient attending Upazilla health complex, South Matlab OPD during the period January 2014 to 31 Dec 2014. To determine the pattern of skin diseases seen in a rural upazilla community. All patients attending the Skin & VD outpatient department were included in this study. All those with dermatological complaints were examined in detail, brief relevant history was elicited and clinical diagnosis was made by a consultant dermatologist.  Patient of Skin diseases comprised 8984 (12 % of total 74870 patients at OPD). The most common age group was 11-20 years (36.06%). Infective disorders were found in 62% and non-infective disorders in 32%, of all the dermatological cases. Fungal infections (48.20%) were the most common among infective dermatoses, whereas bacterial infections were 2nd in position. Among the non-infective dermatoses, eczemas were the most common (33.54%) followed by urticaria (23.78%).  In our study, higher prevalence of infective dermatoses especially fungal infections was more common at rural upazilla level. Since the placement of dermatologists at Upazilla Health Complexes, non-infective dermatoses were also identified in great numbers e.g. Urticaria, Psoriasis, Lichen planus, Pityriasisalba Polymorphic Light Eruption, and vitiligo. These patients were diagnosed, treated and followed up regularly at primary health care settings. CBMJ 2017 January: Vol. 06 No. 01 P: 08-11

scholarly journals The Role of IL-17-Producing Cells in Cutaneous Fungal Infections

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5794
Author(s):  
Yu Sawada ◽  
Ayako Setoyama ◽  
Yumiko Sakuragi ◽  
Natsuko Saito-Sasaki ◽  
Haruna Yoshioka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Cells ◽  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Neutrophil Infiltration ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The Body ◽  
Cell Components ◽  
Anti Fungal

The skin is the outermost layer of the body and is exposed to many environmental stimuli, which cause various inflammatory immune responses in the skin. Among them, fungi are common microorganisms that colonize the skin and cause cutaneous fungal diseases such as candidiasis and dermatophytosis. The skin exerts inflammatory responses to eliminate these fungi through the cooperation of skin-component immune cells. IL-17 producing cells are representative immune cells that play a vital role in anti-fungal action in the skin by producing antimicrobial peptides and facilitating neutrophil infiltration. However, the actual impact of IL-17-producing cells in cutaneous fungal infections remains unclear. In this review, we focused on the role of IL-17-producing cells in a series of cutaneous fungal infections, the characteristics of skin infectious fungi, and the recognition of cell components that drive cutaneous immune cells.

Effect of carbon source on Phenobarbital metabolism by Rhizopus stolonifer

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1022-1027
Author(s):  
Kavitha K ◽  
Asha S ◽  
Hima Bindu T.V.L ◽  
Vidyavathi M
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
In Vitro Models ◽  
Rhizopus Stolonifer ◽  
Safety And Efficacy ◽  
Alternative Systems ◽  
Toxicological Studies ◽  
Microbial Model

The safety and efficacy of a drug is based on its metabolism or metabolite formed. The metabolism of drugs can be studied by different in vitro models, among which microbial model became popular. In the present study, eight microbes were screened for their ability to metabolize phenobarbital in a manner comparable to humans with a model to develop alternative systems to study human drug metabolism. Among the different microbes screened, a filamentous fungi Rhizopus stolonifer metabolized phenobarbital to its metabolite which is used for further pharmacological and toxicological studies. The transformation of phenobarbital was identified by high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Interestingly, Rhizopus stolonifer sample showed an extra metabolite peak at 3.11min. compared to its controls. The influence of different carbon sources in media used for growth of fungus, on metabolite production was studied, to find its effect in production of metabolite as the carbon source may influence the growth of the cell.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document