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。     

大蒜素对白念珠菌形态转换的影响研究

目的探讨大蒜素对白念珠菌形态转换的影响及其作用机制。方法倒置显微镜观察白念珠菌菌丝形成的体外动力学过程;采用CLSI-M27-A3微量液基稀释法检测大蒜素对白念珠菌的最小抑菌浓度(minimum inhibitory concentration,MIC);倒置显微镜观察不同浓度大蒜素对白念珠菌在Spider液体培养基中菌丝形成的影响;qRT-PCR法检测在不同浓度大蒜素作用下白念珠菌菌丝相关基因HWP1、ALS1、EFG1、PDE2表达水平的变化。结果白念珠菌在Spider液体培养基中6 h时出现较长菌丝,24 h后镜下可见大量念珠菌菌丝包裹酵母细胞,紧密交错;大蒜素对白念珠菌的MIC值为25μg/mL;倒置显微镜观察(25~100)μg/mL浓度的大蒜素能明显抑制Spider液体培养基中白念珠菌菌丝的生长;qRT-PCR结果显示,在(25~100)μg/mL浓度的大蒜素作用下,白念珠菌菌丝相关基因表达下调。结论大蒜素能有效抑制白念珠菌的形态转换,其作用机制可能与调节菌丝形成相关基因的表达水平有关。     

紫外线对白念珠菌的影响

紫外线作为重要的环境因子之一,能显著影响包括白念珠菌在内的多种生物的生长及生理过程.研究发现白念珠菌受紫外线照射后菌丝形成被抑制,孢子形成增多且没有向光性;脉冲紫外线辐射可通过多靶点程序使白念珠菌失活;rad 51缺陷株比rad 52缺陷株更易受紫外线损害,同时紫外线可导致白念珠菌杂合性丢失.研究还发现UVC治疗可明显减少烧伤后真菌微生物感染,核黄素/UVA治疗可明显抑制白念珠菌生长.因此紫外线对白念珠菌有一定的抑制作用.     

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。     

HOG1基因对白念珠菌超微结构的影响

目的探讨HOG1基因对白念珠菌超微结构的影响。方法设置实验组、HOG21组(hog1/hog1双等位基因缺陷株);对照组、WT组(标准株),分别在扫描电镜及透射电镜下观察两组菌株细胞的超微结构。结果扫描电镜下观察两组细胞均呈圆形或椭圆形,呈多边出芽繁殖的生长方式。但HOG1基因缺陷株细胞表面粗糙、凹凸不平,出芽数目比标准株少;标准株细胞表面光滑,出芽数量较多,可见"花瓣样"结构的芽痕;透射电镜下HOG1基因缺陷株细胞壁结构不完整,电子透明层厚薄不一,部分细胞可见棉絮状电子致密外层局灶性缺失、细胞膜外凸、不连续以及细胞膜周围见囊泡聚集等现象。标准株细胞壁各层结构完整。结论HOG1基因对白念珠菌细胞壁结构具有一定影响。     

苦参-蛇床子药对提取物对白念珠菌VVC临床株的抑制作用研究

目的本文着重研究苦参-蛇床子药对提取物(Extract of Sophorae Flavescentis Radix — Cnidii Fructus Couplet medicines,ESCC)对白念珠菌VVC临床株的抑制作用。方法 实验通过微量液基稀释法检测ESCC对白念珠菌的MIC 80;XTT减低法检测ESCC对白念珠菌VVC临床株细胞增殖活性的影响;倒置显微镜分别在4 h、8 h、12 h观察ESCC对白念珠菌VVC临床株酵母-菌丝二相性转换的影响;扫描电子显微镜观察ESCC对白念珠菌VVC临床株生物膜形成的影响;微孔板观察ESCC对白念珠菌VVC临床株成熟生物膜的影响;qRT-PCR检测ESCC对白念珠菌VVC临床株菌丝和生物膜形成相关基因的影响。结果 实验结果显示,ESCC具有一定的抗真菌作用,MIC 80 在512~1024 μg/mL之间,可显著降低白念珠菌VVC临床株细胞增殖活性;ESCC可抑制白念珠菌VVC临床株酵母-菌丝二相性转换,并可影响成熟生物膜的完整性。PCR结果显示ESCC可显著降低 ALS1 、 ASL3 、 HWP1 等基因转录水平。结论 本实验研究表明,苦参-蛇床子1∶1药对水提物可通过下调白念珠菌菌丝和生物膜形成相关基因转录水平,从而抑制酵母-菌丝二相性转换,影响其代谢活性,抑制生物膜的形成,并可破坏完整生物膜的完整性,从而起到抗真菌作用。     

环境及遗传调控机制对白念珠菌菌丝形成过程调控的研究进展

<正>白念珠菌(Candida albicans)是最常见的真菌病原体,可定植于口腔、泌尿生殖道以及健康人的皮肤表面,在大多人群中,白念珠菌是正常微生物菌群中的一部分^[1]。由于微生物菌群变化、免疫功能障碍和皮肤屏障破坏,白念珠菌可能会从共生转变为致病性^[2],这种转变导致白念珠菌在不同组织和器官中引起浅部感染(如皮肤感染),以及甚至危及生命的深部真菌感染^[3]。     

中药水提物对白念珠菌生物膜抑制作用的研究

目的研究中药水提物对体外白念珠菌生物膜的影响。方法体外构建白念珠菌生物膜,微量稀释法测定中药提取物对白念珠菌浮游菌最低抑菌浓度（M IC）,XTT减低法评价中药提取物对白念珠菌生物膜SM IC（SM IC80,SM IC50）及对白念珠菌黏附能力的影响。结果野菊花、土槿皮和决明子SM IC80为125 mg/m l,其余中药SM IC80为250或500 mg/m l;地肤子SM IC50为7.81 mg/m l,川芎、苏梗、藿香和决明子SM IC50为15.63 mg/m l,其他中药SM IC50在62.5~250 mg/m l。10味中药在100 mg/m l时均能显著抑制白念珠菌细胞的黏附,10 mg/m l时地肤子、苏梗和苦参对黏附仍具抑制作用。结论该10味中药水提物对体外白念珠菌生物膜有较强抑制效应。     

黄芩苷联合氟康唑对白念珠菌生物膜的抑制作用研究

目的：探讨中药有效成分黄芩苷（ baicalin,BA）联合氟康唑（ fluconazole,FLC）对白念珠菌（ Candida albicans,C． albicans）生物膜的抑制作用。方法通过棋盘法考察BA联合FLC对白念珠菌浮游菌与生物膜的部分抑菌浓度指数（ FI?CI）;通过时间?杀菌曲线检测两药联合对白念珠菌标准株（C．albicans SC5314）的杀菌作用;以XTT减低法和干重法检测两药联合对白念珠菌SC5314生物膜代谢及生物量的影响;采用扫描电镜（ Scanning electron microscopy,SEM）和激光共聚焦显微镜（ Confocal laser scanning microscopy,CLSM）观察两药联合对白念珠菌SC5314生物膜形态结构的影响;以水?烃法检测两药联合对白念珠菌SC5314生物膜细胞表面疏水性（ cell surface hydrophobicity,CSH）的影响;通过实时荧光定量PCR （ quan?titative real time PCR,qRT?PCR）检测两药联合对白念珠菌生物膜和CSH相关基因表达的影响。结果黄芩苷与氟康唑联用抗白念珠菌浮游菌的FICI介于0．28～0．75之间,对生物膜的FICI介于0．16～0．5之间,表现为协同作用;SEM和CLSM在生物膜结构上验证了两药的协同效果;两药联合可降低生物膜表面疏水性,以及使ALS1、ALS3、EAP1、SUN41和CSH1分别下调6％、51％、24％、13％和39％。结论黄芩苷具有协同氟康唑抗白念珠菌生物膜作用。     

Lithium-mediated suppression of morphogenesis and growth in Candida albicans

Hyphal development in Candida albicans contributes to virulence, and inhibition of filamentation is a target for the development of antifungal agents. Lithium is known to impair Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth in galactose-containing media by inhibition of phosphoglucomutase, which is essential for galactose metabolism. Lithium-mediated phosphoglucomutase inhibition is reverted by Mg(2+). In this study we have assessed the effect of lithium upon C. albicans and found that growth is inhibited preferentially in galactose-containing media. No accumulation of glucose-1-phosphate or galactose-1-phosphate was detected when yeasts were grown in the presence of galactose and 15 mM LiCl, though we observed that in vitro lithium-mediated phosphoglucomutase inhibition takes place with an IC(50) of 2 mM. Furthermore, growth inhibition by lithium was not reverted by Mg(2+). These results show that lithium-mediated inhibition of growth in a galactose-containing medium is not due to inhibition of galactose conversion to glucose-6-phosphate but is probably due to inhibition of a signaling pathway. Deletion of the Ser-Thr protein phosphatase SIT4 and treatment with rapamycin have been shown to inhibit filamentous differentiation. We observed that C. albicans filamentation was inhibited by lithium in solid medium containing either galactose as the sole carbon source or 10% fetal bovine serum. These results suggest that suppression of hyphal outgrowth by lithium could be related to inhibition of the target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway.     

Whey-derived free fatty acids suppress the germination of Candida albicans in vitro

Bovine whey from the cheese-making industry contains several bioactive factors that promote health and prevent disease. Although many efforts have been made over the years to show that immunoglobulins, lactoperoxidase, lactoferrin, lysosyme and small peptides present in whey have antimicrobial activities against several pathogenic microorganisms, such activities have not been investigated so far for the lipid fraction of whey. Here, we have used an in vitro assay-based fractionation procedure to show that free fatty acids derived from whey cream specifically inhibit the germination of Candida albicans, a morphologic change associated with pathogenicity. Further fractionation by HPLC demonstrated that this activity can be mainly attributed to lauric acid, myristoleic acid, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid.     

Regulation of superoxide dismutase synthesis in Candida albicans

The synthesis of superoxide dismutase [SOD: EC 1.15.1.1] in response to various cultural conditions was examined in Candida albicans, an opportunistic yeast which causes candidiasis in immunosuppressed patients. SOD plays an important role in protecting cells from the oxidative damage of superoxide radicals. Maximum SOD activity was found after 72 hrs of yeast growth. The optimum pH and temperature for the SOD activity were 7 and 40 °, respectively. The major SOD activity was found in the cytosol fraction and the level of extracellular SOD was very low. The enzyme was stimulated to varying degrees by cholic acid, procaine and tocopherol. On the basis of inhibitor studies and other enzyme properties, the isolated enzyme from C. albicans is identified as copper and zinc superoxide dismutase. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dimorphism-associated changes in amino acid transport of Candida albicans

Abstract Amino acid uptake was followed during pH-regulated dimorphism of Candida albicans . It was observed that transport activities of various amino acids differed with the morphological phenotype. The uptake rates of l-alanine , l -phenylalanine and of l -lysine were lower and those of l -methionine were higher in elongated hypha (germ tube), while the rates of glycine, l -glutamic acid and l -proline were similar in bud and hyphal phenotypes. Minimum threshold of amino acids transport activity is required at the time of phenotypic commitment in a diverging population of Candida albicans .     

Extreme diversification driven by parallel events of massive loss of heterozygosity in the hybrid lineage of Candida albicans

Candida albicans is the most commonly reported species causing candidiasis. The taxonomic classification of C. albicans and related lineages is controversial, with Candida africana (syn. C. albicans var. africana) and Candida stellatoidea (syn. C. albicans var. stellatoidea) being considered different species or C. albicans varieties depending on the authors. Moreover, recent genomic analyses have suggested a shared hybrid origin of C. albicans and C. africana, but the potential parental lineages remain unidentified. Although the genomes of C. albicans and C. africana have been extensively studied, the genome of C. stellatoidea has not been sequenced so far. In order to get a better understanding of the evolution of the C. albicans clade, and to assess whether C. stellatoidea could represent one of the unknown C. albicans parental lineages, we sequenced C. stellatoidea type strain (CBS 1905). This genome was compared to that of C. albicans and of the closely related lineage C. africana. Our results show that, similarly to C. africana, C. stellatoidea descends from the same hybrid ancestor as other C. albicans strains and that it has undergone a parallel massive loss of heterozygosity.     

Interspecific hybridisation between Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis

Abstract Protoplasts from auxotrophic mutants of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis were produced by snail enzyme treatment and their fusion was induced with polyethylene glycol (PEG). During selective regeneration, nutritionally complemented interspecific hybrids were obtained. Their cells contained one nucleus, and the DNA content per cell was higher than in the parents. The isoenzymic and sugar assimilation patterns of the mutants, and those of the hybrids and the products after their haploidisation, were also analysed. The results indicated that the hybrids were partial alloploids containing the total chromosomal set of either of the parental species and one or a few chromosomes of the other.     

Differential profiles of soluble proteins during the initiation of morphogenesis in Candida albicans

Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus that can grow either as yeast or as mycelia. The mycelial form may be required for tissue penetration and therefore may have a role in pathogenesis. The protein profiles of the cell-free S100 fraction from budding yeast cells and germ tube-forming cells (an early stage of the transition between yeast and mycelia) were evaluated using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). Yeast growth or germ tube formation was induced in carbon-starved cells at 37° C by either glucose, galactose or N-acetylglucosamine at pH 4.5 or pH 6.7. More than 400 constitutively synthesised polypeptides were identified on 2-D PAGE by silver staining. A few polypeptides which seem to reflect the release from carbon starvation were detected, but no polypeptides unique to either morphology were observed. Fractionation of S100 preparations by polyethylenimine or heparin-agarose affinity chromatography, which have been used to detect DNA-binding proteins, revealed several proteins that were synthesised on the resumption of cell growth or in response to pH difference. Heparin-agarose also bound novel polypeptides in the size range 130–200 kDa that were preferentially synthesised in germ tube-forming cells. These results suggest that any protein factors that might exert a regulatory role early in germ tube formation are of low abundance, and that a minor group of soluble proteins involved in C. albicans morphogenesis may be differentially synthesised. Received: 11 March 1996 / Accepted: 10 July 1996