Open AccessTwo unlike cousins: C andida albicans and C . glabrata infection strategies
Author(s) -
Brunke Sascha,
Hube Bernhard
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
cellular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.542
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1462-5822
pISSN - 1462-5814
DOI - 10.1111/cmi.12091
Subject(s) - biology , candida albicans , microbiology and biotechnology , corpus albicans , commensalism , immune system , host (biology) , evasion (ethics) , candida glabrata , immunology , bacteria , genetics
Summary C andida albicans and C . glabrata are the two most common pathogenic yeasts of humans, yet they are phylogenetically, genetically and phenotypically very different. In this review, we compare and contrast the strategies of C . albicans and C . glabrata to attach to and invade into the host, obtain nutrients and evade the host immune response. Although their strategies share some basic concepts, they differ greatly in their outcome. While C . albicans follows an aggressive strategy to subvert the host response and to obtain nutrients for its survival, C . glabrata seems to have evolved a strategy which is based on stealth, evasion and persistence, without causing severe damage in murine models. However, both fungi are successful as commensals and as pathogens of humans. Understanding these strategies will help in finding novel ways to fight C andida , and fungal infections in general.