Clinical strains of Candida albicans express the surface antigen glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase in vitro and in infected tissues

We have previously described the presence of an enzymatically active form of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate-dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in the cell surface of Candida albicans ATCC 26555 which is also a fibronectin and laminin binding protein. Immunohistochemical analysis of tissue sections from patients with disseminated candidiasis with a polyclonal antiserum to GAPDH from C. albicans (PAb anti-CA-GAPDH) revealed that the enzyme is expressed at the surface of fungal cells in infected tissues. The same PAb detected the presence of GAPDH species, with a molecular mass of approximately 33 kDa, in cell wall extracts obtained from clinical isolates of the fungus. These cell surface-bound GAPDH moieties exhibited a dose-dependent dehydrogenase activity. These results indicate that this cell surface-bound GAPDH plays a role during infection probably contributing to the attachment of fungal cells to host tissues.