Article
Immunology
Nichole D. Brandquist, Cierra Lampman, Elias J. Smith, Lizeth Basilio, Akram Almansob, Peter C. Iwen, Jill R. Blankenship
Summary: In this study, clinical strains of Candida albicans collected from patients with systemic infections were classified by MLST analysis. These clinical strains exhibited different filamentation patterns across various inducing conditions, indicating a broad phenotypic diversity among clinical strains. The results emphasize the importance of using diverse clinical strains in pathogenesis assays.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Yinhe Mao, Norma V. V. Solis, Scott G. G. Filler, Aaron P. P. Mitchell
Summary: This study found that Nrg1 plays a positive role in gene expression under hypha-inducing conditions in multiple clinical isolates, and this role is magnified in the P57055 strain. These findings indicate that strain diversity is a valuable resource for C. albicans molecular genetic analysis.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Zhiyan Zhou, Biao Ren, Jiyao Li, Xuedong Zhou, Xin Xu, Yuan Zhou
Summary: This study revealed the glycoside hydrolase-related cross-kingdom communications between Streptococcus gordonii and Candida albicans under the low-fermentable-carbohydrate condition. We demonstrated that Candida albicans can promote the growth and metabolic activities of Streptococcus gordonii by elevating the activities of cell-wall-anchored glycoside hydrolases of Streptococcus gordonii. The Candida albicans gene TEC1 is critical for this cross-kingdom metabolic communication.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Miranda Yu, Dakota Ma, Susan Eszterhas, Christiane Rollenhagen, Samuel A. Lee
Summary: This study examined the role of the early endocytosis gene PAL1 in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans. The results showed that PAL1 is involved in susceptibility to antifungal agents, cell wall integrity, and membrane stability related to early endocytosis.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Joanna X. Campbell, Sean Gao, Keerthi S. Anand, Katherine J. Franz
Summary: This study investigates the role of Zn2+ in regulating the antifungal activity of Hist-5. Increased Zn2+ concentration prevents peptide internalization, reducing cytotoxicity and membrane disruption. The activity of Hist-5 can be rescued by decreasing the availability of Zn2+.
ACS INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gang Luo, Tianxu Wang, Jingkai Zhang, Pengju Zhang, Yang Lu
Summary: Candida albicans relies on a variety of genes for hyphal initiation and maintenance during its pathogenesis. The induction of iron uptake genes during sustained hyphal development, even with additional free iron available, suggests an iron-independent mechanism. Blocking iron acquisition in C. albicans prevents BRG1 activation, leading to impaired hyphal maintenance, while ectopically expressed BRG1 can sustain hyphal development in the absence of iron.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Yinhe Mao, Norma Solis, Anupam Sharma, Max Cravener, Scott G. Filler, Aaron P. Mitchell
Summary: Genetic strategies have been essential for understanding biological processes at a mechanistic level. In this study, the authors describe a genetic tool for the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, which can be used to evaluate gene function and pathway relationships through engineered conditional gene expression. The tool utilizes the RBT5 promoter and has been validated in multiple clinical isolates, demonstrating its potential usefulness in the infection environment.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Jayasankari Senthilganesh, Shruthi Kuppusamy, Rubini Durairajan, Siva Bala Subramaniyan, Anbazhagan Veerappan, Nithyanand Paramasivam
Summary: The study focuses on using lectin-conjugated copper sulfide nanoparticles to eradicate fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans and Candida glabrata biofilms causing VVC. The results suggest that this approach may be a different means to disrupt the Candida spp. population causing VVC.
Article
Immunology
Shihao Song, Shuo Zhao, Xiuyun Sun, Lili Meng, Zijie Wang, Huihui Tan, Jingyun Liu, Min Zhang, Yinyue Deng
Summary: The compounds 5-sulfenylindole and 5-selenylindole discovered in this study showed excellent abilities to inhibit biofilm formation and hyphal formation in Candida albicans, as well as attenuating its virulence in human cell lines and mouse infection models. They also decreased the expression of genes involved in cAMP-PKA and MAPK pathways and showed synergistic effects with antifungal agents against drug-resistant strains. Additionally, 5-sulfenylindole restored the composition and richness of the intestinal microbiota in mice infected by C. albicans.
Article
Microbiology
Enrico Garbe, Franziska Gerwien, Dominik Driesch, Tina Mueller, Bettina Boettcher, Markus Graeler, Slavena Vylkova
Summary: The transition of Candida albicans from yeast to hyphae is crucial for its virulence. In this study, we investigated the metabolic adaptations that accompany the filamentation process and identified the activation of de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis as an essential pathway for hypha formation.
Article
Cell Biology
Selene Mogavero, Frank M. Sauer, Sascha Brunke, Stefanie Allert, Daniela Schulz, Stephanie Wisgott, Nadja Jablonowski, Osama Elshafee, Thomas Krueger, Olaf Kniemeyer, Axel A. Brakhage, Julian R. Naglik, Edward Dolk, Bernhard Hube
Summary: Candidalysin is a peptide toxin secreted by C. albicans causing epithelial damage. Specific fungal attributes are required for candidalysin delivery to host cell membranes. The toxin accumulates in invasion pockets created by invasive hyphae, as visualised using camelid nanobodies.
CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Vidhyashree Rajasekar, Priti Darne, Asmita Prabhune, Richard Y. T. Kao, Adline Princy Solomon, Gordon Ramage, Lakshman Samaranayake, Prasanna Neelakantan
Summary: The study found that the curcumin-sophorolipid nanocomplex effectively inhibited fungal adhesion, biofilm development, maturation, and filamentation. This was accompanied by downregulation of key genes involved in biofilm formation and hyphal regulation, indicating the potential of this nanocomplex as a promising anti-fungal agent against Candida albicans.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Yasmin Ahmed, Melanie A. C. Ikeh, Donna M. MacCallum, Alison M. Day, Kevin Waldron, Janet Quinn
Summary: Polyphosphate mobilization plays a vital role in the pathobiology of Candida albicans, impacting processes such as activation of the Pho4 transcription factor, cell cycle progression, stress resistance, morphogenetic switching, and virulence. Blocking polyphosphate mobilization leads to significant morphological defects and attenuated virulence.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Hitoshi Kamauchi, Yu Kimura, Mikoto Ushiwatari, Mitsuaki Suzuki, Taishi Seki, Koichi Takao, Yoshiaki Sugita
Summary: Thirty-five pyridone derivatives were synthesized using domino-Knoevenagel-electrocyclic reactions on various polycyclic pyridone scaffolds. These compounds were tested for anti-fungal activities against Candida albicans. Among them, compound 6d showed both anti-hyphal and biofilm inhibition activities.
BIOORGANIC & MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Artyom A. Stepanov, Darya Poshvina, Alexey S. Vasilchenko
Summary: This study investigated the antifungal action of 2,4-DAPG against Candida albicans, finding that it reduced the ability of the fungus to form biofilms and inhibited its filamentation. The study also revealed an increase in Sap production and gene expression, indicating a potential mechanism of action for 2,4-DAPG.
