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Alselami A, Drummond RA. How metals fuel fungal virulence, yet promote anti-fungal immunity. Dis Model Mech 2023; 16:dmm050393. [PMID: 37905492 PMCID: PMC10629672 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections represent a significant global health problem, and present several clinical challenges, including limited treatment options, increasing rates of antifungal drug resistance and compounding comorbidities in affected patients. Metals, such as copper, iron and zinc, are critical for various biological and cellular processes across phyla. In mammals, these metals are important determinants of immune responses, but pathogenic microbes, including fungi, also require access to these metals to fuel their own growth and drive expression of major virulence traits. Therefore, host immune cells have developed strategies to either restrict access to metals to induce starvation of invading pathogens or deploy toxic concentrations within phagosomes to cause metal poisoning. In this Review, we describe the mechanisms regulating fungal scavenging and detoxification of copper, iron and zinc and the importance of these mechanisms for virulence and infection. We also outline how these metals are involved in host immune responses and the consequences of metal deficiencies or overloads on how the host controls invasive fungal infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alanoud Alselami
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Rebecca A. Drummond
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
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Mullis MN, Ghione C, Lough-Stevens M, Goldstein I, Matsui T, Levy SF, Dean MD, Ehrenreich IM. Complex genetics cause and constrain fungal persistence in different parts of the mammalian body. Genetics 2022; 222:6698696. [PMID: 36103708 PMCID: PMC9630980 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyac138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Determining how genetic polymorphisms enable certain fungi to persist in mammalian hosts can improve understanding of opportunistic fungal pathogenesis, a source of substantial human morbidity and mortality. We examined the genetic basis of fungal persistence in mice using a cross between a clinical isolate and the lab reference strain of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Employing chromosomally encoded DNA barcodes, we tracked the relative abundances of 822 genotyped, haploid segregants in multiple organs over time and performed linkage mapping of their persistence in hosts. Detected loci showed a mix of general and antagonistically pleiotropic effects across organs. General loci showed similar effects across all organs, while antagonistically pleiotropic loci showed contrasting effects in the brain vs the kidneys, liver, and spleen. Persistence in an organ required both generally beneficial alleles and organ-appropriate pleiotropic alleles. This genetic architecture resulted in many segregants persisting in the brain or in nonbrain organs, but few segregants persisting in all organs. These results show complex combinations of genetic polymorphisms collectively cause and constrain fungal persistence in different parts of the mammalian body.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin N Mullis
- University of Southern California Molecular and Computational Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, , Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Caleb Ghione
- University of Southern California Molecular and Computational Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, , Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Michael Lough-Stevens
- University of Southern California Molecular and Computational Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, , Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Ilan Goldstein
- University of Southern California Molecular and Computational Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, , Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Takeshi Matsui
- Stanford University Joint Initiative for Metrology in Biology, , CA 94305, USA
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
- Stanford University Department of Genetics, , Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Sasha F Levy
- Stanford University Joint Initiative for Metrology in Biology, , CA 94305, USA
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
- Stanford University Department of Genetics, , Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Matthew D Dean
- University of Southern California Molecular and Computational Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, , Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Ian M Ehrenreich
- University of Southern California Molecular and Computational Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, , Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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Cramer RA, Sheppard DC, Clemons KV. 7th Advances Against Aspergillosis: Basic, diagnostic, clinical and therapeutic studies. Med Mycol 2016; 55:1-3. [DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myw134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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