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The Candida albicans cell wall protein Rhd3/Pga29 is abundant in the yeast form and contributes to virulence
Author(s) -
de Boer Albert D.,
de Groot Piet W. J.,
Weindl Günther,
Schaller Martin,
Riedel Dietmar,
DiezOrejas Rosalía,
Klis Frans M.,
de Koster Chris G.,
Dekker Henk L.,
Gross Uwe,
Bader Oliver,
Weig Michael
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
yeast
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.923
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1097-0061
pISSN - 0749-503X
DOI - 10.1002/yea.1790
Subject(s) - candida albicans , biology , mutant , virulence , cell wall , yeast , microbiology and biotechnology , corpus albicans , fungal protein , hypha , glycosylation , glycoprotein , mannan , cell , biochemistry , gene , polysaccharide
Abstract The glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐modified protein Rhd3/Pga29 of the human pathogen Candida albicans belongs to a family of cell wall proteins that are widespread among Candida species but are not found in other fungi. Pga29 is covalently linked to the β‐1,3‐glucan framework of the cell wall via β‐1,6‐glucan. It is a small and abundant O ‐glycosylated protein and requires the protein‐ O ‐mannosyl transferase Pmt1 for glycosylation. Furthermore, Pga29 is strongly expressed in yeast cells but is downregulated in hyphae. Removal of the PGA29 gene in C. albicans leads to a significant reduction of cell wall mannan; however, Pga29 does not seem to have a major role in maintaining cell wall integrity. In addition, adhesion capacity and hyphae formation appear normal in pga29 deletion mutants. Importantly, the pga29 deletion mutant is less virulent, and infection of reconstituted human epithelium with the pga29 mutant results in a diminished induction of proinflammatory cytokines, such as GM‐CSF, TNF, IL‐6 and IL‐8. We propose that the reduced virulence of the pga29 mutant is a consequence of altered surface properties, resulting in altered fungal recognition. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.