白念珠菌双形态性的分子调节机制

白念珠菌具有双形态性,即在一定条件下相互转换为酵母相和菌丝相。调节双形态性的主要信号通路有Cph1调节的MAPK途径,Efg1调节的c AMP／PKA途径,Tup1介导的抑制途径,Rim101调节的pH反应通路等。这些通路控制着菌丝特异基因的表达,许多菌丝特异基因编码白念珠菌的毒力因子,因此菌丝相的致病性更强。     

白念珠菌钙稳态系统及钙信号途径的研究进展

白念珠菌是临床重要的条件致病菌,其胞内的钙稳态及钙信号途径与宿主侵染、压力应答等诸多生理过程紧密相关。研究该菌的钙稳态系统及钙信号调控网络,对明确白念珠菌的侵染机制与耐药机理,以及开发具有新靶点的抗真菌药物具有重要意义。本文对这些内容的研究进展进行了综述。     

白念珠菌铁稳态调控网络研究进展

铁是绝大多数生物生长和代谢过程中必需的营养元素。尽管自然界中铁元素含量非常丰富,但是其生物可利用性却很低。作为一种人体常见的条件致病真菌,白念珠菌在漫长的进化过程中形成了复杂的铁稳态调控网络,能够应答环境中铁浓度的变化,增强菌株对环境的适应力。结合课题组研究工作,简要综述近几年关于铁代谢表达调控途径的研究进展,主要关注白念珠菌在环境铁匮乏条件下铁获得和调控策略,揭示白念珠菌体内铁离子摄取、转运、储存和利用机制。     

白念珠菌酵母相-菌丝相形态转换机制的研究进展

白念珠菌是人体内重要的条件性致病真菌,形态多样性是其重要的生物学特征,不同形态细胞之间可相互转换。酵母相-菌丝相形态转换是白念珠菌中典型形态转换系统,与白念珠菌粘附、侵袭性等方面密切相关。宿主相关环境因素作用于白念珠菌,激活相应的信号传导通路,调控下游应答基因的表达,共同调控白念珠菌菌丝发育。结合目前关于白念珠菌形态转换的研究,认为广泛和深入的信号通路主要有:环磷酸腺苷/蛋白激酶A(c AMP/PKA)信号通路、丝裂原激活蛋白激酶(MAPK)信号通路、Rim101介导的p H信号通路和Tup1介导的负调控信号通路共同调控形态转换。该文将近年来国内外白念珠菌形态转换及其信号传导通路调控机制方面的进展进行综述分析。     

白念珠菌氧化应激机制的研究进展

白念珠菌是人类的一种重要的致病真菌,每年导致全球约40万免疫功能低下的患者出现致命的系统性感染。天然免疫细胞通过多种途径抑制真菌,其中很重要的一种途径是通过氧化应激反应产生活性氧(ROS)从而杀伤白念珠菌。该文通过总结关于白念珠菌氧化应激机制的研究结果,来进一步认识白念珠菌的致病机制。     

pH及氧气对白念珠菌菌丝形成的影响

目的探讨pH值和氧气对白念珠菌菌丝形成的影响。方法通过调节Muller—Hinton液体培养基的pH值和去除培养基中的氧气来观察白念珠菌的生长曲线、倍增时间和菌丝形成率的变化。结果在无氧气的液体培养基中,白念珠菌生长缓慢,不能产生菌丝结构,只有酵母细胞形成。生长曲线的延缓期内各组没有明显差异,而在生长的对数期pH3和pH4的条件下念珠菌生长速度明显慢于pH5、pH6、pH7、pH8和pH9。菌丝形成率在pH3、pH4和pH5条件下〈20％,而在pH6、pH7、pH8和pH9条件下可高达70％。结论厌氧条件抑制白念珠菌的菌丝形成,只形成酵母细胞。白念珠菌在pH3—9的范围内均能生长,偏酸性环境有利于白念珠菌酵母形成,偏碱性的环境有助于菌丝的形成。     

白念珠菌Ras/cAMP/P KA途径研究进展

白念珠菌引起的真菌感染严重威胁着人类健康。Ras/cAMP/PKA途径在白念珠菌菌丝发育、生物被膜形成、有性生殖以及耐药性中起着重要的调控作用,该通路由GTPases(Ras1和Ras2)、腺苷环化酶(Cyr1)、cAMP水解酶(Pde1和Pde2)以及PKA激酶(包括催化亚基Tpk1和Tpk2,调节亚基Bcy1)构成。环境因子通过Ras/cAMP/PKA途径调控下游转录因子,进而调节白念珠菌多种生物学行为。文中综述了近年来白念珠菌Ras/cAMP/PKA信号通路感应胞外环境因子和调控细胞行为等方面的研究进展。     

pH调控临床光滑念珠菌生长的机制

光滑念珠菌Candida glabrata是仅次于白念珠菌C.albicans的第二大念珠菌病原体,在免疫缺陷人体中引发较高的发病率和死亡率.该物种能在复杂多变的宿主环境中生存,pH是宿主体内重要的环境因子,光滑念珠菌适应不同生态位中pH的能力与其致病性密切相关.本研究发现,pH能够影响光滑念珠菌细胞增殖,尤其在相对碱...     

碱性pH条件下白念珠菌钙离子通道CCH1和MID1基因对钙内流的影响及Crz1p转录因子对其的调控作用

白念珠菌Candida albicans对环境pH的适应能力与其致病性有密切关系,钙信号转导途径介导许多环境压力的应答并伴随胞内钙离子浓度的瞬间变化。通过构建钙通道基因CCH1和MID1的缺失突变株,在碱性pH条件下,研究其对胞内钙内流的影响以及转录因子Crz1p对CCH1和MID1基因的调控作用。使用二步法PCR介导的基因敲除技术构建cch1Δ/Δ和mid1Δ/Δ突变菌株,利用流式细胞术比较野生型和突变型菌株在碱性pH条件刺激下胞内钙的瞬间变化,进一步构建pPHO89-LacZ重组质粒并利用β-半乳糖苷     

抗白念珠菌感染的疫苗及抗体研究进展

白念珠菌是与人类共生的条件致病真菌,能引起免疫力低下患者皮肤黏膜和全身系统性持续感染.系统性念珠菌病是引起免疫力低下患者死亡的主要原因之一.由于临床缺乏念珠菌病的早期诊疗手段、可用的抗真菌药物种类有限且毒副作用大、耐药菌株越来越普遍、新药研发难度大等因素,抗真菌治疗依然面临着严峻挑战.目前有较多研究者致力于阐明白念珠菌感染的宿主免疫应答机制,并试图研发抗白念珠菌感染的免疫治疗方法,使免疫治疗有望成为预防和治疗真菌感染的有效手段.该文将几种抗白念珠菌感染的疫苗和抗体研究进展作简要概述,旨在为新型抗白念珠菌感染疫苗及抗体的研究提供参考.     

RIM101-dependent and-independent pathways govern pH responses in Candida albicans

Growth and differentiation of Candida albicans over a broad pH range underlie its ability to infect an array of tissues in susceptible hosts. We identified C. albicans RIM101, RIM20, and RIM8 based on their homology to components of the one known fungal pH response pathway. PCR product-disruption mutations in each gene cause defects in three responses to alkaline pH: filamentation, induction of PRA1 and PHR1, and repression of PHR2. We find that RIM101 itself is an alkaline-induced gene that also depends on Rim20p and Rim8p for induction. Two observations indicate that a novel pH response pathway also exists. First, PHR2 becomes an alkaline-induced gene in the absence of Rim101p, Rim20p, or Rim8p. Second, we created strains in which Rim101p activity is independent of Rim20p and Rim8p; in these strains, filamentation remains pH dependent. Thus, pH governs gene expression and cellular differentiation in C. albicans through both RIM101-dependent and RIM101-independent pathways.     

Candida albicans Rim13p, a protease required for Rim101p processing at acidic and alkaline pHs

Candida albicans is an important commensal of mucosal surfaces that is also an opportunistic pathogen. This organism colonizes a wide range of host sites that differ in pH; thus, it must respond appropriately to this environmental stress to survive. The ability to respond to neutral-to-alkaline pHs is governed in part by the RIM101 signal transduction pathway. Here we describe the analysis of C. albicans Rim13p, a homolog of the Rim13p/PalB calpain-like protease member of the RIM101/pacC pathway from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus nidulans, respectively. RIM13, like other members of the RIM101 pathway, is required for alkaline pH-induced filamentation and growth under extreme alkaline conditions. Further, our studies suggest that the RIM101 pathway promotes pH-independent responses, including resistance to high concentrations of lithium and to the drug hygromycin B. RIM13 encodes a calpain-like protease, and we found that Rim101p undergoes a Rim13p-dependent C-terminal proteolytic processing event at neutral-to-alkaline pHs, similar to that reported for S. cerevisiae Rim101p and A. nidulans PacC. However, we present evidence that suggests that C. albicans Rim101p undergoes a novel processing event at acidic pHs that has not been reported in either S. cerevisiae or A. nidulans. Thus, our results provide a framework to understand how the C. albicans Rim101p processing pathway promotes alkaline pH-independent processes.     

Snf7p, a component of the ESCRT-III protein complex, is an upstream member of the RIM101 pathway in Candida albicans

The success of Candida albicans as an opportunistic pathogen is based in part on its ability to adapt to diverse environments. The RIM101 pathway governs adaptation to neutral-alkaline environments and is required for virulence. Analysis of a genomic two-hybrid study conducted with Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed that components involved in multivesicular bodies (MVB) transport may interact with RIM101 pathway members. Thus, we hypothesized that these proteins may function in the RIM101 pathway in C. albicans. We identified C. albicans homologs to S. cerevisiae Snf7p, Vps4p, and Bro1p and generated mutants in the cognate gene. We found that snf7Delta/Delta mutants, but not vps4Delta/Delta nor bro1Delta/Delta mutants, had phenotypes similar to, but more severe than, those of RIM101 pathway mutants. We found that the constitutively active RIM101-405 allele partially rescued snf7Delta/Delta mutant phenotypes. The vps4Delta/Delta mutant had subtle phenotypes, but these were not rescued by the RIM101-405 allele. Further, we found that the snf7Delta/Delta, vps4Delta/Delta, and bro1Delta/Delta mutants did not efficiently localize the vital dye FM4-64 to the vacuole and that it was often accumulated in an MVB-like compartment. This phenotype was not rescued by RIM101-405 or observed in RIM101 pathway mutants. These results suggest that Snf7p may serve two functions in the cell: one as a RIM101 pathway member and one for MVB transport to the vacuole.     

Dominant active alleles of RIM101 (PRR2) bypass the pH restriction on filamentation of Candida albicans

Morphological development of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans is profoundly affected by ambient pH. Acidic pH restricts growth to the yeast form, whereas neutral pH permits development of the filamentous form. Superimposed on the pH restriction is a temperature requirement of approximately 37 degrees C for filamentation. The role of pH in development was investigated by selecting revertants of phr2Delta mutants that had gained the ability to grow at acid pH. The extragenic suppressors in two independent revertants were identified as nonsense mutations in the pH response regulator RIM101 (PRR2) that resulted in a carboxy-terminal truncation of the open reading frame. These dominant active alleles conferred the ability to filament at acidic pH, to express PHR1, an alkaline-expressed gene, at acidic pH, and to repress the acid-expressed gene PHR2. It was also observed that both the wild-type and mutant alleles could act as multicopy suppressors of the temperature restriction on filamentation, allowing extensive filamentation at 29 degrees C. The ability of the activated alleles to promote filamentation was dependent upon the developmental regulator EFG1. The results suggest that RIM101 is responsible for the pH dependence of hyphal development.