Open AccessThe MAP kinase‐activated protein kinase Rck2p regulates cellular responses to cell wall stresses, filamentation and virulence in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans
Author(s) -
Li Xichuan,
Du Wei,
Zhao Jingwen,
Zhang Lilin,
Zhu Zhiyan,
Jiang Linghuo
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
fems yeast research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1567-1364
pISSN - 1567-1356
DOI - 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2010.00626.x
Subject(s) - candida albicans , filamentation , biology , corpus albicans , virulence , staurosporine , kinase , protein kinase a , fungal protein , microbiology and biotechnology , saccharomyces cerevisiae , biochemistry , yeast , gene , laser , physics , optics
Rck2p is the Hog1p‐MAP kinase‐activated protein kinase required for the attenuation of protein synthesis in response to an osmotic challenge in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Rck2p also regulates rapamycin sensitivity in both S. cerevisiae and Candida albicans . In this study, we demonstrate that the deletion of CaRCK2 renders C. albicans cells sensitive to, and CaRck2p translocates from the cytosol to the nucleus in response to, cell wall stresses caused by Congo red, Calcoflor White, elevated heat and zymolyase. However, the kinase activity of CaRck2p is not required for the cellular response to these cell wall stresses. Furthermore, transcripts of cell wall protein‐encoding genes CaBGL2, CaHWP1 and CaXOG1 are reduced in C. albicans cells lacking CaRCK2 . The deletion of CaRCK2 also reduces the in vitro filamentation of C. albicans and its virulence in a mouse model of systemic candidasis. The kinase activity of CaRck2p is required for the virulence, but not for the in vitro filamentation, in C. albicans . Therefore, Rck2p regulates cellular responses to cell wall stresses, filamentation and virulence in the human fungal pathogen C. albicans .