Effects of hemin, CO2, and pH on the branching of Candida albicans filamentous forms

Abstract

Morphological transitions of wild-type and oxidative stress-tolerant Candida albicans strains were followed in the RPMI-FBS culture medium at pH values and CO 2 levels characteristic for the anatomical niches inhabited by this opportunistic human pathogen fungus, including the oral cavity as well as the intestinal and vaginal lumens. Selected cultures were also supplemented with hemin modeling bleedings. Germination as well as elongation and branching of hyphae were monitored in the cultures using time-lapse video microscopy. Unexpectedly, branching time, which is defined as the time taken until the first branch of hypha emerges for the first time after germination, correlated well with alterations in the environmental conditions meanwhile no such correlations were found for germination time (time lasted until the *Corresponding author; E-mail: pocsi.istvan@science.unideb.hu : 10.1556/030.63.2016.023 First published online December 8, 2016 1217-8950/$ 20.00 © 2016 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest appearance of the germination tube). Based on these observations, hypotheses were set up to estimate the significance of branching time in the pathogenesis of both superficial and systemic candidiases.Acta Microbiologica et Immunologica Hungarica 63 (4), pp. 387-403 (2016) DOI

A Role for Yeast/Pseudohyphal Cells of Candida albicans in the Correlated Expression of NLRP3 Inflammasome Inducers in Women With Acute Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

“…In in vitro cultures of C. albicans , these acidic pH values are usually permissive of yeast, not hyphal growth. At the relatively high CO 2 concentration and metabolite-rich environment (as in the vagina), the fungus can also grow under filamentous forms but these are dominantly pseudo-hyphae (Jakab et al, 2016). Acidic pH causes cell wall remodeling with un-masking of beta-glucan (Sherrington et al, 2017), a fact that has been previously demonstrated in VVC patients (Pericolini et al, 2018; Roselletti et al, 2019).…”