Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans, causing a variety of diseases ranging from superficial mucosal infections to deep-seated systemic invasions. Mucus, the gel that coats all wet epithelial surfaces, accommodates C. albicans as part of the normal microbiota, wh...

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Autores principales:	Nicole L. Kavanaugh, Angela Q. Zhang, Clarissa J. Nobile, Alexander D. Johnson, Katharina Ribbeck
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2014
Materias:	Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/eae052c19cbe4c0d9c23f167f0cf6b64
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:eae052c19cbe4c0d9c23f167f0cf6b642021-11-15T15:47:03ZMucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>10.1128/mBio.01911-142150-7511https://doaj.org/article/eae052c19cbe4c0d9c23f167f0cf6b642014-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.01911-14https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Candida albicans is the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans, causing a variety of diseases ranging from superficial mucosal infections to deep-seated systemic invasions. Mucus, the gel that coats all wet epithelial surfaces, accommodates C. albicans as part of the normal microbiota, where C. albicans resides asymptomatically in healthy humans. Through a series of in vitro experiments combined with gene expression analysis, we show that mucin biopolymers, the main gel-forming constituents of mucus, induce a new oval-shaped morphology in C. albicans in which a range of genes related to adhesion, filamentation, and biofilm formation are downregulated. We also show that corresponding traits are suppressed, rendering C. albicans impaired in forming biofilms on a range of different synthetic surfaces and human epithelial cells. Our data suggest that mucins can manipulate C. albicans physiology, and we hypothesize that they are key environmental signals for retaining C. albicans in the host-compatible, commensal state. IMPORTANCE The yeast Candida albicans causes both superficial infections of the mucosa and life-threatening infections upon entering the bloodstream. However, C. albicans is not always harmful and can exist as part of the normal microbiota without causing disease. Internal body surfaces that are susceptible to infection by C. albicans are coated with mucus, which we hypothesize plays an important role in preventing infections. Here, we show that the main components of mucus, mucin glycoproteins, suppress virulence attributes of C. albicans at the levels of gene expression and the corresponding morphological traits. Specifically, mucins suppress attachment to plastic surfaces and human cells, the transition to cell-penetrating hyphae, and the formation of biofilms (drug-resistant microbial communities). Additionally, exposure to mucins induces an elongated morphology that physically resembles the mating-competent opaque state but is phenotypically distinct. We suggest that mucins are potent antivirulence molecules that have therapeutic potential for suppressing C. albicans infections.Nicole L. KavanaughAngela Q. ZhangClarissa J. NobileAlexander D. JohnsonKatharina RibbeckAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 5, Iss 6 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Microbiology QR1-502 Nicole L. Kavanaugh Angela Q. Zhang Clarissa J. Nobile Alexander D. Johnson Katharina Ribbeck Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>
description	ABSTRACT Candida albicans is the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans, causing a variety of diseases ranging from superficial mucosal infections to deep-seated systemic invasions. Mucus, the gel that coats all wet epithelial surfaces, accommodates C. albicans as part of the normal microbiota, where C. albicans resides asymptomatically in healthy humans. Through a series of in vitro experiments combined with gene expression analysis, we show that mucin biopolymers, the main gel-forming constituents of mucus, induce a new oval-shaped morphology in C. albicans in which a range of genes related to adhesion, filamentation, and biofilm formation are downregulated. We also show that corresponding traits are suppressed, rendering C. albicans impaired in forming biofilms on a range of different synthetic surfaces and human epithelial cells. Our data suggest that mucins can manipulate C. albicans physiology, and we hypothesize that they are key environmental signals for retaining C. albicans in the host-compatible, commensal state. IMPORTANCE The yeast Candida albicans causes both superficial infections of the mucosa and life-threatening infections upon entering the bloodstream. However, C. albicans is not always harmful and can exist as part of the normal microbiota without causing disease. Internal body surfaces that are susceptible to infection by C. albicans are coated with mucus, which we hypothesize plays an important role in preventing infections. Here, we show that the main components of mucus, mucin glycoproteins, suppress virulence attributes of C. albicans at the levels of gene expression and the corresponding morphological traits. Specifically, mucins suppress attachment to plastic surfaces and human cells, the transition to cell-penetrating hyphae, and the formation of biofilms (drug-resistant microbial communities). Additionally, exposure to mucins induces an elongated morphology that physically resembles the mating-competent opaque state but is phenotypically distinct. We suggest that mucins are potent antivirulence molecules that have therapeutic potential for suppressing C. albicans infections.
format	article
author	Nicole L. Kavanaugh Angela Q. Zhang Clarissa J. Nobile Alexander D. Johnson Katharina Ribbeck
author_facet	Nicole L. Kavanaugh Angela Q. Zhang Clarissa J. Nobile Alexander D. Johnson Katharina Ribbeck
author_sort	Nicole L. Kavanaugh
title	Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>
title_short	Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>
title_full	Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>
title_fullStr	Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>
title_full_unstemmed	Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>
title_sort	mucins suppress virulence traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">candida albicans</named-content>
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/eae052c19cbe4c0d9c23f167f0cf6b64
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Mucins Suppress Virulence Traits of <named-content content-type="genus-species">Candida albicans</named-content>

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