白念珠菌形态转换及其调控机制的研究进展

白念珠菌是人体内正常的共生微生物,也是最常见的机会性致病真菌。该菌最重要的生物学特征是其形态的多样性,不同形态细胞之间可频繁地相互转换。这种形态的可塑性与白念珠菌在宿主体内的定植能力、侵染性以及有性生殖等方面均有密切关系,也是该菌对外界环境变化的适应策略。酵母–菌丝相和white-opaque形态转换是白念珠菌中两种典型形态转换系统。宿主相关的环境因子和白念珠菌内源基因共同参与这些形态转换的调控。该文将综述近年来白念珠菌形态转换及其调控机制方面的进展,重点介绍参与菌丝发育和white-opaque形态转换的关键因子和调控通路。     

白念珠菌的二型性转换：从共生菌到致病菌

白念珠菌Candida albicans是人体内的良性共生真菌,存在于宿主的口腔、表皮、胃肠道及阴道等处,在免疫能力低下的人群中可能引起严重的疾病。一般以二倍体的形式存在,且能在酵母、假菌丝和菌丝的状态之间转换。菌丝状态促进了白念珠菌的侵染能力,同时也可以使白念珠菌逃逸宿主的免疫攻击,在其对宿主的感染途径中起到了重要的作用。本综述将阐述白念珠菌菌丝形成的调控机制、菌丝的发育模式以及菌丝形态对宿主免疫系统的影响,并且简要介绍念珠菌属中热带念珠菌和耳念珠菌菌丝发育方面的相关研究。     

白念珠菌生物被膜形成的遗传调控机制

白念珠菌是人体重要的条件性致病真菌。形态的多样性和可塑性是白念珠菌典型的生物学特征,这与它的致病性、宿主适应能力以及有性生殖过程密切相关。白念珠菌生物被膜(Biofilm)是由不同形态细胞(包括酵母型、菌丝和假菌丝)以及胞外基质组成的致密结构,也是毒性和耐药性形成的重要因子。生物被膜对抗真菌药物、宿主免疫系统和环境胁迫因子等都表现出较强的抵抗力和耐受性,是临床上病原真菌感染防治的重大挑战。随着基因表达谱和遗传操作技术的发展,白念珠菌生物被膜的形成及其耐药性的获得所依赖的遗传调控通路和分子调控机制越来越清楚。主要包括MAPK和cAMP介导的信号途径以及Bcr1和Tec1等因子介导的转录调控。此外,白念珠菌生物被膜的形成与形态转换和有性生殖之间存在密切的联系。文中综述了白念珠菌生物被膜形成的遗传调控机制,重点介绍了细胞壁相关蛋白、转录因子和交配型对该过程的调控以及生物被膜的耐药机制。     

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。     

白念珠菌菌丝发育的遗传调控

白念珠菌(Candidaalbicans)是人体内最重要的机会型致病真菌,能以酵母、假菌丝、菌丝等多种形态存在。白念珠菌的菌丝发育与它的致病性成正相关,这一过程由胞内多种信号转导途径所调控。现对控制白念珠菌菌丝发育的主要信号转导途径进行综述。     

白念珠菌致病相关的水解酶

白念珠菌是一种重要的人类致病性真菌,其致病机制与多种因素有关.水解酶是白念珠菌最重要的毒力因子之一,在其入侵宿主过程中起关键作用.白念珠菌水解酶包括分泌型天冬氨酸蛋白酶、磷脂酶和脂肪酶,介导白念珠菌的表型转换、对宿主组织的黏附及对宿主免疫系统的干预,使其能够入侵宿主组织和逃避宿主的免疫防御机制.该文我们综述了白念珠菌水解酶的生物学属性和致病机制的研究进展.     

白念珠菌致病性研究进展

白念珠菌是一种重要的条件致病菌,多在体表及黏膜宿主共栖生存,可引起皮肤黏膜及内脏的广泛感染。白念珠菌是单细胞假菌丝酵母菌,形态上具有双相性,即菌丝相和孢子相。其中菌丝相更易黏附和入侵宿主组织,是该菌在体内的主要致病形式。白念珠菌的致病机制与多种因素如黏附、芽管、水解酶、生物膜、群体感应等有关。该文综述了白念珠菌致病机制的研究新进展。     

影响白念珠菌表型的信号通路及其转录因子研究进展

白念珠菌是最常见的人类条件致病性真菌。白念珠菌在接受环境刺激信息后,能通过多种信号转导途径使菌体发生形态、毒力等各种表型转换,从而适应生长环境,易于在宿主体内潜伏或致病。该文对白念珠菌表型转换信号通路中主要转录因子的最新研究进展进行了概述,重点介绍介导白念珠菌形态转换和毒力等表型的信号转导主要通路:cAMP-PKA通路和MAPK通路,这些通路的终点都是相关转录因子,如Efg1、Cph1。转录因子能与基因启动子结合,调控白念珠菌相应基因的转录,从而促进或抑制信号的传达,影响白念珠菌的增殖、形态转变、致病力等。可为相关研究工作者进一步了解白念珠菌表型转换的调节机制提供参考。     

白念珠菌菌丝转录活化因子协同作用的研究进展

从酵母转变为菌丝来适应不同的环境的能力是白念珠菌的特性之一,而菌丝体是其侵入宿主细胞引起机体全身性感染所必需的重要致病因素之一。白念珠菌这种重要的形态转换受到多种菌丝相关基因的调控。本文主要综述促有丝裂原活化蛋白激酶(MAPK)途径的转录活化因子Cph1p和cAMP蛋白激酶A(cAMP/PKA)调节途径中的转录活化因子Efg1p对菌丝形态转换的影响,以及两者与调节白念珠菌毒力的转录活化因子TEA/ATTS家族中的Tec1p对于分泌型天冬氨酸蛋白酶家族(Secreted aspartyl proteinases,SAPs)中SAP5的协同调节作用,以对可能存在于不同的菌丝转录活化因子之间对菌丝形态转换调控的协同作用进行初步探讨。     

白念珠菌感染分子机制研究

白念珠菌是临床上最常见的条件致病真菌。白念珠菌在感染宿主时会遭遇机械阻碍(如上皮细胞),生物、化学和物理拮抗(如胆汁、黏液、p H)及宿主免疫细胞(如吞噬细胞)的杀伤。白念珠菌生物化学、形态学的灵活性及逃逸宿主天然免疫的能力对其发挥致病性至关重要。该文就白念珠菌感染宿主过程中涉及的分子机制做一综述,为进一步探索新的治疗药物提供参考。     

A novel group I intron in Candida dubliniensis is homologous to a Candida albicans intron

In the present study, we determined the sequence of group I self-splicing introns found in the large ribosomal RNA subunit of Candida albicans, Candida stellatoidea and the recently-described species Candida dubliniensis. It was found that both the intron and ribosomal RNA nucleotide sequences are almost perfectly identical between different C. albicans strains as well as between C. albicans and C. stellatoidea strains. Comparisons of ribosomal RNA sequences suggest that local isolates of atypical C. albicans from individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus can be assigned to the C. dubliniensis species. C. dubliniensis strains also harbor a group I intron in their ribosomal RNA, as observed in about 40% of C. albicans strains and all C. stellatoidea strains. This novel C. dubliniensis group I intron is identical to the C. albicans and C. stellatoidea intron, except for two widely divergent stem-loop regions. Despite these differences, the C. dubliniensis intron possesses self-splicing ability in an in vitro assay. Taken together, these data support the idea that C. albicans and C. stellatoidea should be joined together as variants of the same species while C. dubliniensis is a distinct but closely related microorganism. To our knowledge, the C. albicans and C. dubliniensis introns are the first example of a pair of homologous group I introns differing only by the presence of apparently facultative sequences in some stem-loops suspected to be involved in stabilization of tertiary structure.     

分泌型蛋白介导白念珠菌与宿主相互作用分子机制的研究进展

白念珠菌是人类最常见的条件性致病真菌之一,主要定植于人体粘膜表面。在白念珠菌与宿主相互作用过程中,分泌型蛋白起着非常重要的作用。针对分泌蛋白功能及其作用机理的研究有助于阐明白念珠菌致病分子机制,并为诊断、预防和治疗真菌感染提供新的理论策略。本文综述了白念珠菌分泌型蛋白在介导病原与宿主相互作用分子机制方面的最新研究进展,概括了分泌蛋白在组织侵入损伤、营养获取、细胞壁维持以及免疫逃避等方面的功能,同时对未来值得重点关注的研究方向进行了探讨。     

Subtypes of genotype A Candida albicans isolates determined by restriction endonuclease and sequence analyses

Systemic yeast infections are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in immunocompromized patients. Candida albicans, being the most frequently isolated fungal pathogen in these patients, can be divided into three genotypes (genotypes A, B and C) by 25S intron analysis. In our study, we found that molecular sizes of genotype A C. albicans isolates were heterogeneous. In order to determine the molecular basis of this difference, HaeIII digestion was applied, and strains forming different band patterns were analyzed by automated sequence analysis. As a result of sequence analysis, eight different subtypes (a→h) were found among genotype A C. albicans strains and an easy differentiation scheme consisting of HaeIII and MspI digestions was constructed.     

A fourth gene from the Candida albicans CDR family of ABC transporters

Using primers derived from a region of the Candida albicans CDR1 (Candida drug resistance) gene that is conserved in other ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters, a DNA fragment from a previously unknown CDR gene was obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). After screening a C. albicans genomic library with this fragment as a probe, the complete CDR4 gene was isolated and sequenced. CDR4 codes for a putative ABC transporter of 1490 amino acids with a high degree of homology to Cdr1p, Cdr2p and Cdr3p from C. albicans (62, 59 and 57% amino acid sequence identity, respectively). Cdr4p has a predicted structure typical for cluster I.1 of yeast ABC transporters, characterized by two homologous halves, each comprising an N-terminal hydrophilic domain with consensus sequences for ATP binding and a C-terminal hydrophobic domain with six transmembrane helices. In contrast to the CDR1/CDR2 genes, the genetic structure of the CDR4 gene was conserved in 59 C. albicans isolates from six different patients. Northern hybridization analysis showed that the CDR4 gene was expressed in most isolates, but no correlation between CDR4 mRNA levels and the degree of fluconazole resistance of the isolates was found. In addition, a C. albicans mutant in which both copies of the CDR4 gene were disrupted by insertional mutagenesis was not hypersusceptible to fluconazole as compared to the parent strain. Unlike CDR1 and CDR2, CDR4 does not, therefore, seem to be involved in fluconazole resistance in C. albicans.     

大蒜素对白色念珠菌生物被膜形成的作用

生物被膜的形成是白色念珠菌产生耐药性的重要原因之一。本研究首先构建白色念珠菌体外生物被膜模型,通过倒置显微镜和甲基四氮盐（XTT）法检测大蒜素对白色念珠菌生物被膜形成的影响,同时采用实时荧光定量PCR法（qRT-PCR）对白色念珠菌生物被膜相关基因ALS1、ALS3、HWP1、MP65、SUN41的表达水平进行检测。结果显示,当大蒜素浓度≥12.5μg/mL时,白色念珠菌生物被膜的生长被抑制,并且在生物被膜形成的早期,大蒜素干预能有效抑制其形成;大蒜素能下调白色念珠菌生物被膜相关基因ALS1、ALS3、HWP1、MP65、SUN41的表达水平。研究结果提示,大蒜素可有效抑制体外白色念珠菌生物被膜的形成,可能与其下调生物被膜相关基因的表达有关。     

新疆不同来源金黄壳囊孢的多样性

为明确新疆不同寄主及地理来源的金黄壳囊孢(Cytospora chrysosperma)的多样性, 探讨种内亲缘关系和多样性差异。作者通过记录菌株在PDA培养基上的菌落颜色、形状、子实体形态等特征, 并应用Biolog-FF技术及ISSR分子标记技术, 比较了来自新疆5个地区5种寄主上的47株金黄壳囊孢的培养特征、生理生化特征及遗传多样性。结果表明47株金黄壳囊孢依据培养特征可划分为15种类型。不同类型菌株在碳源利用及代谢能力上存在差异, 各菌株对碳源的利用数量随着培养时间的增长逐渐增多。菌株882利用的碳源数量最多, 培养120 h可利用28种不同碳源, 碳源代谢能力中等; 菌株812-1利用的碳源数量最少, 培养120 h仅利用7种碳源, 代谢能力较低; 菌株1074-2、847、934、891-1、896、740具有单独利用碳源的能力。基于遗传相似性系数进行聚类分析, 结果显示遗传相似性系数为0.58时, 47个菌株被划分为两大类群, 其中第二类群菌株的培养特征为: 菌落白色、子实体较小且分布密集。供试金黄壳囊孢的多样性主要受自身遗传结构的影响, 不同寄主种类和地理来源对多样性的影响不显著。     

白念珠菌基因功能研究的策略

白念珠菌是临床最常见的致病真菌,共有约6 100个基因,阐明其基因功能,尤其是致病性和耐药性相关基因的功能对发现抗真菌的新策略和新靶点有举足轻重的意义。白念珠菌基因功能研究的策略主要包括基因敲除和基因表达调控,近年来,白念珠菌基因功能研究的技术手段不断发展,本文就常用技术的发展进行综述,对相关技术存在的不足和发展前景也进行了分析。     

Ridaforolimus体外单独或联合氟康唑抗念珠菌作用的研究

由念珠菌感染引起的侵袭性念珠菌病治疗困难、死亡率高,是临床一大难题。氟康唑是目前治疗该病的一线用药,但近年来耐药菌株逐渐增多,治疗困难。因此,开发新的有效抗真菌药物或发现可提高现有抗真菌药物活性的化合物十分必要。通过体外抗真菌药物敏感性试验,我们发现TOR通路抑制剂ridaforolimus具有抗念珠菌作用。随后我们通过纸片法及微量液基稀释法评价该化合物单独或与氟康唑联合对念珠菌的抗菌效果。结果表明ridaforolimus对念珠菌有杀伤作用,在与氟康唑联合时增强了氟康唑的抗念珠菌能力,逆转了白念珠菌对氟康唑的耐药,并将氟康唑由抑菌剂转化为杀菌剂。本研究为ridaforolimus作为新型抗真菌药及氟康唑增敏剂提供了一定理论基础。     

Dot assay for determining adhesive interactions between yeasts and bacteria under controlled hydrodynamic conditions

Candida belongs to the normal human microflora and are found adhering to a number of human body tissues as well as to a variety of biomaterials implants. Often, yeasts adhere in association with bacteria, but to date there is no definitive assay to investigate adhesive interactions between yeasts and bacteria adhering on surfaces. Although we recently described the use of a parallel plate flow chamber to this purpose [Millsap, K.W., Bos, R., Van der Mei, H.C., Busscher, H.J., 1998. Adhesive interactions between medically important yeasts and bacteria. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 21, 321–336], the method was slow and evaluation of a large number of strains showed major biological variation between experiments. Here, we describe a new assay for the simultaneous determination of the adhesive interactions between yeasts and different bacterial strains on a surface under controlled hydrodynamic conditions. On an acrylic surface, the presence of adhering bacteria suppressed adhesion of Candida albicans ATCC 10261 to various degrees, depending on the bacterial strain involved. Suppression of C. albicans ATCC 10261 adhesion was strongest by Actinomyces naeslundii T14V-J1, while adhering Streptococcus gordonii NCTC 7869 caused the weakest suppression of yeast adhesion. When adhering yeasts and bacteria were challenged with the high detachment force of a passing liquid–air interface, the majority of the yeasts detached, while C. albicans adhering on the control, bare polymethylmethacrylate surface formed aggregates. Summarizing, this study presents a new method to determine suggested adhesive interactions between yeasts and adhering bacteria under controlled hydrodynamic conditions. However, the results seem to indicate that these adhesive interactions may well not exist, but that instead different bacterial strains have varying abilities to discourage yeast adhesion.