Genome-wide analysis of Candida albicans gene expression patterns during infection of the mammalian kidney

Abstract

Global analysis of the molecular responses of microbial pathogens to their mammalian hosts represents a major challenge. To date few microarray studies have been performed on Candida albicans cells derived from infected tissues. In this study we examined the C. albicans SC5314 transcriptome from renal infections in the rabbit. Genes involved in adhesion, stress adaptation and the assimilation of alternative carbon sources were up-regulated in these cells compared with control cells grown in RPMI 1640, whereas genes involved in morphogenesis, fermentation and translation were down-regulated. When we compared the congenic virulent C. albicans strains NGY152 and SC5314, there was minimal overlap between their transcriptomes during kidney infections. This suggests that much of the gene regulation observed during infections is not essential for virulence. Indeed, we observed a poor correlation between the transcriptome and phenome for those genes that were regulated during kidney infection and that have been virulence tested.

Sensing of mammalian IL-17A regulates fungal adaptation and virulence

“…C. albicans strains were propagated on Sabouraud's glucose agar 37 °C (Sigma Aldrich, Milan, Italy). Isolation of C. albicans from infected stomachs was done on a sucrose gradient, as described 41 . Viable Aspergillus conidia ( > 95%) were obtained by growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) with chloramphenicol 0.05% [w/v], (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, MI, USA) after 4 days at room temperature (RT).…”

Normal Adaptation of Candida albicans to the Murine Gastrointestinal Tract Requires Efg1p-Dependent Regulation of Metabolic and Host Defense Genes

“…An efg1 Ϫ null mutant was attenuated for virulence in a systemic model of candidiasis and was more susceptible to phagocytosis (17,30). Efg1p regulates gene expression in response to serum, temperature, hypoxia, and low iron availability and in kidney lesions (22,25,(31)(32)(33)(34). Therefore, Efg1p regulates a large number of genes encoding cell surface proteins, stress response proteins, and metabolic activities in response to various environmental cues.…”

Budding off: bringing functional genomics toCandida albicans

“…RNA-Seq studies have identified 600 novel coding and over 1000 noncoding transcripts in C. albicans, many of which are regulated by environment and cell state [97,98]. Transcriptional profiles have now been defined under a wide variety of conditions both in vitro and in vivo [99][100][101][102][103]. Profiling of unique phenotypic states, including white, opaque, gray and GUT (gastrointestinally induced transition), has been used to define the transcriptional networks regulating these states, and has revealed that these networks resemble those controlling cell fate in metazoans [34,75,98,104].…”

“…Expression profiling of C. albicans cells during murine systemic infection has been facilitated by microarrays that limit cross-hybridization of host transcripts [100,118]. Candida albicans genes differentially expressed during renal infection were associated with multiple processes including filamentation, stress response, adhesion and fatty acid metabolism.…”