Project description:We have developed a monoclonal antibody (mAb) C7 that reacts with Als3p and enolase present in Candida albicans cell wall and exerts three anti-Candida activities: candidacidal activity and inhibition of both adhesion and filamentation. To investigate the mode of action of mAb C7 on fungal viability, we examined changes in the genome-wide gene expression profile of C. albicans grown in presence of a subinhibitory concentration of mAb C7 (12.5 µg/ml) by using microarrays. A total of 49 genes were found to be differentially expressed upon treatment with mAb C7. Of these, 28 were found to be up-regulated and 21 down-regulated. The categories of up-regulated genes with the largest number of variations were those involved in iron uptake or related to iron homeostasis (42.86%), while the energy-related group accounted for 38.10% of the down-regulated genes (8/21). Results were validated by real Time PCR. Since these effects resembled those found under iron-limited conditions, the activity of mAb C7 on C. albicans mutants with deletions in key genes implicated in the three iron acquisition systems described in this yeast was also assessed. Only mutants lacking TPK1 and TPK2 genes were less sensitive to the candidacidal effect of mAb C7. FeCl3 or hemin at concentrations ≥ 7.8µM reversed the candidacidal effect of mAb C7 on C. albicans, on a concentration dependent manner. The results presented in this study provide evidence that the candidacidal effect of mAb C7 is related to the blockage of the reductive iron uptake pathway of C. albicans. A saturated culture of C. albicans grown overnight was diluted to an optical density at 600 nm of approximately 0.1 and divided in two aliquots. One of them was used untreated as control and the second one was treated with a subinhibitory concentration (12.5 µg/ml) of monoclonal antibody C7 . Both cultures were incubated for 18 h at 37ºC before harvesting cells. Antibody added and control samples were obtained each time. The experiment was repeated once. Dye-swap technique was used for hybridization and four arrays were analyzed to compare the expresion of over six thousands genes in response to antibody C7.

Project description:The fungus Candida albicans is part of the human microbiome and mainly colonises the GI tract of healthy individuals. However, when the balance in the GI tract is disturbed, the fungus can switch from a commensal to a virulent lifestyle and can turn into a life-threatening pathogen. Life in the host is characterised by a constant struggle for nutrients, essential trace elements such as iron, copper and zinc are particularly important. To protect itself from pathogens, the human host has developed a strategy to limit the availability of trace elements, this strategy is also described as nutritional immunity. C. albicans has developed a whole range of counter-strategies to obtain sufficient trace elements. In this manuscript, we have characterised the transcription factor Orf19.217, which acts at the interface between trace element scavenging and acquisition and is therefore particularly important in adaptation to life in the host. According to its identified function, we named the transcription factor Irf1, Iron-dependent Regulator of Filamentation. The transcription factor was previously identified in a systematic screen of genes whose overexpression contributes to morphological changes in C. albicans. We have comprehensively investigated the function of Irf1 using state-of-the-art functional genomics approaches, including ChIP-seq, transcriptomics and bioinformatics analyses. Analysis of the Irf1 gene-regulatory network indicates that the transcription factor is involved in the regulation of genes important for iron uptake. Using phenotypic analysis, we confirmed that Irf1 acts in a pathway parallel to known iron uptake regulators and is also required for hyphal formation induced by iron deficiency, a process that allows the fungus to access more viable body niches. Through epistasis experiments, we were also able to identify downstream effectors of Irf1 that are involved in this process. Our study provides new insights into how C. albicans adapts to iron deficiency and establish a direct functional link between hyphal formation and iron uptake.

Dataset Information

Eighteen hours monoclonal antibody C7 exposure

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure