Identifying infection-associated genes of Candida albicans in the postgenomic era.

The human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans can cause an unusually broad range of infections reflecting a remarkable potential to adapt to various microniches within the human host. The exceptional adaptability of C. albicans is mediated by rapid alterations in gene expression in response to various environmental stimuli and this transcriptional flexibility can be monitored with tools such as microarrays.

the hyphal-associated adhesin and invasin Als3 of Candida albicans mediates iron acquisition from host ferritin.

Iron sequestration by host iron-binding proteins is an important mechanism of resistance to microbial infections. Inside oral epithelial cells, iron is stored within ferritin, and is therefore not usually accessible to pathogenic microbes. We observed that the ferritin concentration within oral epithelial cells was directly related to their susceptibility to damage by the human pathogenic fungus, Candida albicans.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteases of Candida albicans target proteins necessary for both cellular processes and host-pathogen interactions.

Intracellular and secreted proteases fulfill multiple functions in microorganisms. In pathogenic microorganisms extracellular proteases may be adapted to interactions with host cells. Here we describe two cell surface-associated aspartic proteases, Sap9 and Sap10, which have structural similarities to yapsins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and are produced by the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans.

Comparative analysis of promoter regions containing binding sites of the heterodimeric transcription factor Ino2/Ino4 involved in yeast phospholipid biosynthesis.

The inositol/choline responsive element (ICRE) functions as a UAS element mediating coordinate expression of structural genes required for yeast phospholipid biosynthesis. However, ICRE motifs could be detected upstream of various genes apparently not involved in lipid metabolism. In this work we investigated the expression pattern of selected genes containing ICRE promoter motifs, as identified by in silico analysis (ARG4, ERG20, FAR8, GPD2, RSF1, URA8, VHT1 and YEL073C).

CandidaDB: a genome database for Candida albicans pathogenomics.

CandidaDB is a database dedicated to the genome of the most prevalent systemic fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans. CandidaDB is based on an annotation of the Stanford Genome Technology Center C.albicans genome sequence data by the European Galar Fungail Consortium.

Candida albicans proteinases and host/pathogen interactions.

Candida infections are common, debilitating and often recurring fungal diseases and a problem of significant clinical importance. Candida albicans, the most virulent of the Candida spp., can cause severe mucosal and life-threatening systemic infections in immunocompromised hosts.

Negative regulation of phospholipid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by a Candida albicans orthologue of OPI1.

Structural genes of phospholipid biosynthesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are coordinately regulated by a UAS element, designated ICRE (inositol/choline-responsive element). Opi1 is a negative regulator responsible for repression of ICRE-dependent genes in the presence of an excess of inositol and choline. Gene regulation by phospholipid precursors has been also reported for the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans.

Reduced expression of the hyphal-independent Candida albicans proteinase genes SAP1 and SAP3 in the efg1 mutant is associated with attenuated virulence during infection of oral epithelium.

The transition of Candida albicans from a yeast to a hyphal form is controlled by several transcriptional factors, including the key regulators Cph1 and Efg1, and is considered an important virulence attribute. These factors, especially Efg1, regulate the expression of hyphal-associated genes e.g.

Candida albicans hyphal formation and the expression of the Efg1-regulated proteinases Sap4 to Sap6 are required for the invasion of parenchymal organs.

The ability to change between yeast and hyphal cells (dimorphism) is known to be a virulence property of the human pathogen Candida albicans. The pathogenesis of disseminated candidosis involves adhesion and penetration of hyphal cells from a colonized mucosal site to internal organs. Parenchymal organs, such as the liver and pancreas, are invaded by C.