Adiponectin pathway activation dampens inflammation and enhances alveolar macrophage fungal killing via LC3-associated phagocytosis.

Although innate immunity is critical for antifungal host defense against the human opportunistic fungal pathogen , potentially damaging inflammation must be controlled. Adiponectin (APN) is an adipokine produced mainly in adipose tissue that exerts anti-inflammatory effects in adipose-distal tissues such as the lung. We observed 100% mortality and increased fungal burden and inflammation in neutropenic mice with invasive aspergillosis (IA) that lack APN or the APN receptors AdipoR1 or AdipoR2.

LAMMER Kinase Governs the Expression and Cellular Localization of Gas2, a Key Regulator of Flocculation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

It was reported that LAMMER kinase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe plays an important role in cation-dependent and galactose-specific flocculation. Analogous to other flocculating yeasts, when cell wall extracts of the Δlkh1 strain were treated to the wild-type strain, it displayed flocculation. Gas2, a 1,3-β-glucanosyl transferase, was isolated from the EDTA-extracted cell-surface proteins in the Δlkh1 strain.

LAMMER Kinase Modulates Cell Cycle by Phosphorylating the MBF Repressor, Yox1, in .

Lkh1, a LAMMER kinase homolog in the fission yeast , acts as a negative regulator of filamentous growth and flocculation. It is also involved in the response to oxidative stress. The deletion mutant displays slower cell growth, shorter cell size, and abnormal DNA content compared to the wild type.

Regulation of lung inflammation by adiponectin.

Adiponectin is an insulin sensitizing hormone that also plays a role in the regulation of inflammation. Although adiponectin can exert pro-inflammatory effects, more studies have reported anti-inflammatory effects, even in non-adipose tissues such as the lung. Obesity is considered an inflammatory disease, is a risk factor for lung diseases, and is associated with decreased levels of plasma adiponectin.

The Gβ-like Protein CpcB Affects Sexual Development, Response to Oxidative Stress and Phagocytosis by Alveolar Macrophages in .

G-protein signaling is important for signal transduction, allowing various stimuli that are external to a cell to affect its internal molecules. In , the roles of Gβ-like protein CpcB on growth, asexual development, drug sensitivity, and virulence in a mouse model have been previously reported. To gain a deeper insight into sexual development, the Δ strain was generated using the supermater AFB62 strain and crossed with AFIR928.

The LAMMER Kinase, LkhA, Affects Pathogenicity by Modulating Reproduction and Biosynthesis of Cell Wall PAMPs.

The LAMMER kinase in eukaryotes is a well-conserved dual-specificity kinase. species cause a wide spectrum of diseases called aspergillosis in humans, depending on the underlying immune status of the host, such as allergy, aspergilloma, and invasive aspergillosis. is the most common opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes invasive aspergillosis.

Mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase, MpdA, is required for mannitol production in vegetative cells and involved in hyphal branching, heat resistance of conidia and sexual development in Aspergillus nidulans.

Aspergillus nidulans produces cleistothecia as sexual reproductive organs in a process affected by genetic and external factors. To gain a deeper insight into A. nidulans sexual development, we performed comparative proteome analyses based on the wild type developmental periods.

Matrix stiffness epigenetically regulates the oncogenic activation of the Yes-associated protein in gastric cancer.

In many cancers, tumour progression is associated with increased tissue stiffness. Yet, the mechanisms associating tissue stiffness with tumorigenesis and malignant transformation are unclear. Here we show that in gastric cancer cells, the stiffness of the extracellular matrix reversibly regulates the DNA methylation of the promoter region of the mechanosensitive Yes-associated protein (YAP).

Survival factor SvfA plays multiple roles in differentiation and is essential for completion of sexual development in Aspergillus nidulans.

The first member of the velvet family of proteins, VeA, regulates sexual development and secondary metabolism in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. In our study, through comparative proteome analysis using wild type and veA-deletion strains, new putative regulators of sexual development were identified and functionally analyzed. Among these, SvfA, containing a yeast survival factor 1 domain, plays multiple roles in the growth and differentiation of A.

The Dual-Specificity LAMMER Kinase Affects Stress-Response and Morphological Plasticity in Fungi.

The morphological plasticity of fungal pathogens has long been implicated in their virulence and is often influenced by extracellular factors. Complex signal transduction cascades are critical for sensing stresses imposed by external cues such as antifungal drugs, and for mediating appropriate cellular responses. Many of these signal transduction cascades are well-conserved and involve in the distinct morphogenetic processes during the life cycle of the pathogenic fungi.

Expression of sexual genes in Aspergillus fumigatus homogeneous culture produced by vegetative mass mating.

There are presently no studies on the genes for sexual development of Aspergillus fumigatus in situ using mating culture, primarily because of challenging experimental conditions that require a significantly long period of induction and produce developmentally heterogenous culture, harboring very few sexual organs. In order to overcome these challenges, we developed an efficient and convenient procedure called 'vegetative mass mating (VeM)' for study at a molecular level. The VeM method enabled production of a developmentally homogenous A.