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Pathakumari B, Liu W, Wang Q, Kong X, Liang G, Chokkakula S, Pathakamuri V, Nunna V. Comparative Evaluation of Candida Species-Specific T-Cell Immune Response in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells. Biomedicines 2024; 12:1487. [PMID: 39062060 PMCID: PMC11274682 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12071487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 05/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Non-albicans Candida (NAC) species are increasingly recognized as significant contributors to candidemia infections; however, relatively less is known about the immune responses induced by these species. In this study, we compared the cytokine production ability of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) upon stimulation with different Candida species (Candida spp.). We measured secreted cytokines using ELISA and checked the functional profiles of T-cell responses using multicolor flow cytometry. Although there was a differential expression of cytokines against Candida spp., significant difference were observed in the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-12p40, and IL-23 (p < 0.05) between Candida spp. A significant difference was observed between C. albicans and C. glabrata (p = 0.026) in the levels of TNF-α. C. glabrata showed significant differences compared to C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, and C. krusei in the levels of IL-10 (p values of 0.02, 0.04, and 0.01, respectively). Despite the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ expressing Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines being higher in stimulated PBMCs, none of the Candida spp. showed significant differences. The levels of secreted IL-17A and IL-23 were consistently lower in Candida spp. regardless of the stimulus used. Here, we showed the differential regulation of Th1, Th2, and Th17 during Candida spp. stimulation of the immune system ex vivo. Additionally, our findings suggest that C. albicans elicits an IFN-γ response, whereas C. glabrata promotes IL-10 cellular responses, but this warrants additional studies to conclude this association. This investigation holds the potential to advance our comprehension of the distinct immune responses induced by Candida spp., with probable implications in designing antifungal immunotherapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balaji Pathakumari
- Department of Medical Mycology, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China; (W.L.); (Q.W.); (X.K.); (G.L.)
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA
| | - Weida Liu
- Department of Medical Mycology, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China; (W.L.); (Q.W.); (X.K.); (G.L.)
| | - Qiong Wang
- Department of Medical Mycology, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China; (W.L.); (Q.W.); (X.K.); (G.L.)
| | - Xue Kong
- Department of Medical Mycology, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China; (W.L.); (Q.W.); (X.K.); (G.L.)
| | - Guanzhao Liang
- Department of Medical Mycology, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China; (W.L.); (Q.W.); (X.K.); (G.L.)
| | - Santosh Chokkakula
- Department of Microbiology, Chungbuk National University, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea;
| | - Vasundhara Pathakamuri
- Department of Radio-Diagnosis, Sri Venkateshwara Medical College, Tirupathi 517507, India;
| | - Venkatrao Nunna
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA;
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Trandafir M, Pircalabioru GG, Savu O. Microbiota analysis in individuals with type two diabetes mellitus and end‑stage renal disease: A pilot study. Exp Ther Med 2024; 27:211. [PMID: 38590581 PMCID: PMC11000444 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2024.12500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a widespread health concern, which affects ~9.1% of the global population and 12-15% of individuals in upper-middle income countries. Notably, ~2% of patients with CKD progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which leads to a substantial decline in the quality of life, an increased risk of mortality and significant financial burden. Patients with ESRD often still suffer from uremia and uremic syndromes, due to the accumulation of toxins between dialysis sessions and the inadequate removal of protein-bound toxins during dialysis. A number of these toxins are produced by the gut microbiota through the fermentation of dietary proteins or cholines. Furthermore, the gut microbial community serves a key role in maintaining metabolic and immune equilibrium in individuals. The present study aimed to investigate the gut microbiota patterns in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and ESRD via quantitative PCR analysis of the 16S and 18S ribosomal RNA of selected members of the gut microbiota. Individuals affected by both T2DM and ESRD displayed distinctive features within their intestinal microbiota. Specifically, there were increased levels of Gammaproteobacteria observed in these patients, and all subjects exhibited a notably increased presence of Enterobacteriaceae compared with healthy individuals. This particular microbial community has established connections with the presence of inflammatory processes in the colon. Moreover, the elevated levels of Enterobacteriaceae may serve as an indicator of an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota, a condition known as dysbiosis. In addition, the Betaproteobacteria phylum was significantly more prevalent in the stool samples of patients with both T2DM and ESRD when compared with the control group. In conclusion, the present pilot study focused on gut microbiome alterations in T2DM and ESRD. Understanding the relationship between dysbiosis and CKD may identify new areas of research and therapeutic interventions aimed at modulating the gut microbiota to improve the health and outcomes of individuals with CKD and ESRD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Trandafir
- Doctoral School, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Gratiela Gradisteanu Pircalabioru
- Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences Division, Research Institute of University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
- Academy of Romanian Scientists, 050045 Bucharest, Romania
- eBio-hub Research Center, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 060811 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Octavian Savu
- Doctoral School, ‘Carol Davila’ University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
- ‘N.C. Paulescu’ National Institute of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, 020042 Bucharest, Romania
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Pérez-Vielma NM, Gómez-López M, Martínez-Godínez MDLÁ, Luna-Torres AL, Domínguez López A, Miliar-García Á. Candida Variety in the Oral Cavity of Mexican Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and TLR2 Gene Expression. Clin Pract 2024; 14:417-425. [PMID: 38525710 PMCID: PMC10961687 DOI: 10.3390/clinpract14020031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aim was to diagnose Candida in the oral cavity of subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using a genotyping technique and compare the results with those from conventional diagnosis by Papanicolaou (Pap) staining. METHODS Palatal mucosa smears were performed on 18 dental care patients diagnosed with T2DM and grade I, II, and III prosthetic stomatitis who met the inclusion criteria; 18 healthy control subjects were also included in the study. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels were determined from total blood. Using exfoliative cytology, the Pap staining technique was used to diagnose candidiasis. Exfoliative cytology was also used for molecular diagnosis; DNA was obtained for Candida genotyping, and RNA was used for gene expression studies. RESULTS Clinical patterns indicated that all subjects were positive for Candida; however, Pap analysis revealed only three positive subjects, whereas end-point polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis revealed 15 subjects with some type of Candida. The most common Candida species found were Candida guilliermondii (38.8%), Candida krusei (33.3%), Candida tropicalis, and Candida lusitaniae (22.2%). Interestingly, the coexpression of different species of Candida was found in various patients. In all patients, HbA1c levels were increased. Gene expression analysis showed a significant decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in TLR2 expression in positive subjects, whereas TLR4 expression did not differ significantly among patients. CONCLUSIONS The end-point PCR technique showed better sensitivity for the diagnosis of Candida when compared with the diagnosis by Pap staining. T2DM subjects showed an increased presence of C. guilliermondii that was correlated with decreased TLR2 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Mabel Pérez-Vielma
- Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias de la Salud Unidad Santo Tomás, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico; (N.M.P.-V.); (A.L.L.-T.)
| | - Modesto Gómez-López
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico; (M.G.-L.); (M.d.l.Á.M.-G.); (A.D.L.)
| | - María de los Ángeles Martínez-Godínez
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico; (M.G.-L.); (M.d.l.Á.M.-G.); (A.D.L.)
| | - Ana Laura Luna-Torres
- Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias de la Salud Unidad Santo Tomás, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico; (N.M.P.-V.); (A.L.L.-T.)
| | - Aarón Domínguez López
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico; (M.G.-L.); (M.d.l.Á.M.-G.); (A.D.L.)
| | - Ángel Miliar-García
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular, Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 11340, Mexico; (M.G.-L.); (M.d.l.Á.M.-G.); (A.D.L.)
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Bombassaro A, Figueiredo JM, Taborda CP, Joosten LAB, Vicente VA, Queiroz-Telles F, Meis JF, Kischkel B. Skin innate immune response against fungal infections and the potential role of trained immunity. Mycoses 2024; 67. [PMID: 38282360 DOI: 10.1111/myc.13682] [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] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Fungal skin infections are distributed worldwide and can be associated with economic and social traits. The immune response related to skin cells is complex and its understanding is essential to the comprehension of each cell's role and the discovery of treatment alternatives. The first studies of trained immunity (TI) described the ability of monocytes, macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells to develop a memory-like response. However, the duration of TI does not reflect the shorter lifespan of these cells. These conclusions supported later studies showing that TI can be observed in stem and haematopoietic cells and, more recently, also in non-immune skin cells such as fibroblasts, highlighting the importance of resident cells in response to skin disorders. Besides, the participation of less studied proinflammatory cytokines in the skin immune response, such as IL-36γ, shed light into a new possibility of inflammatory pathway blockade by drugs. In this review, we will discuss the skin immune response associated with fungal infections, the role of TI in skin and clinical evidence supporting opportunities and challenges of TI and other inflammatory responses in the pathogenesis of fungal skin infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Bombassaro
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Program in Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology, Biological Sciences, Department of Basic Pathology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Julia Marcondes Figueiredo
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carlos P Taborda
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Dermatology, LIM53, Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Leo A B Joosten
- Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Medical Genetics, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Vania A Vicente
- Program in Microbiology, Parasitology and Pathology, Biological Sciences, Department of Basic Pathology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
- Engineering Bioprocess and Biotechnology Post-graduation Program, Department of Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Flavio Queiroz-Telles
- Department of Public Health, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Jacques F Meis
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Engineering Bioprocess and Biotechnology Post-graduation Program, Department of Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
- Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Cologne, Germany
| | - Brenda Kischkel
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Duggan S, Usher J. Candida glabrata: A powerhouse of resistance. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011651. [PMID: 37796755 PMCID: PMC10553330 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Seána Duggan
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology at The University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Jane Usher
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology at The University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
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Lu H, Hong T, Jiang Y, Whiteway M, Zhang S. Candidiasis: From cutaneous to systemic, new perspectives of potential targets and therapeutic strategies. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2023; 199:114960. [PMID: 37307922 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2023.114960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Candidiasis is an infection caused by fungi from a Candida species, most commonly Candida albicans. C. albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen typically residing on human skin and mucous membranes of the mouth, intestines or vagina. It can cause a wide variety of mucocutaneous barrier and systemic infections; and becomes a severe health problem in HIV/AIDS patients and in individuals who are immunocompromised following chemotherapy, treatment with immunosuppressive agents or after antibiotic-induced dysbiosis. However, the immune mechanism of host resistance to C. albicans infection is not fully understood, there are a limited number of therapeutic antifungal drugs for candidiasis, and these have disadvantages that limit their clinical application. Therefore, it is urgent to uncover the immune mechanisms of the host protecting against candidiasis and to develop new antifungal strategies. This review synthesizes current knowledge of host immune defense mechanisms from cutaneous candidiasis to invasive C. albicans infection and documents promising insights for treating candidiasis through inhibitors of potential antifungal target proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Lu
- Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Ting Hong
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuanying Jiang
- Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Malcolm Whiteway
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Shiqun Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
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7
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Oh S, Lee JH, Kim HM, Batsukh S, Sung MJ, Lim TH, Lee MH, Son KH, Byun K. Poly-L-Lactic Acid Fillers Improved Dermal Collagen Synthesis by Modulating M2 Macrophage Polarization in Aged Animal Skin. Cells 2023; 12:cells12091320. [PMID: 37174720 PMCID: PMC10177436 DOI: 10.3390/cells12091320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) fillers correct cutaneous volume loss by stimulating fibroblasts to synthesize collagen and by augmenting the volume. PLLA triggers the macrophage-induced activation of fibroblasts that secrete transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). However, whether M2 macrophage polarization is involved in PLLA-induced collagen synthesis via fibroblast activation in aged skin is not known. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of PLLA on dermal collagen synthesis via M2 polarization in an H2O2-induced cellular senescence model and aged animal skin. H2O2-treated macrophages had increased expression levels of the M1 marker CD80 and decreased expression levels of the M2 marker CD163, which were reversed by PLLA. The expression levels of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, which mediate M2 polarization, were decreased in H2O2-treated macrophages and increased upon the PLLA treatment. CD163, IL-4, and IL-13 expression levels were decreased in aged skin, but increased after the PLLA treatment. The expression levels of TGF-β, pSMAD2/SMAD2, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen type 1A1 (COL1A1), and COL3A1 were also decreased in aged skin, but increased after the PLLA treatment. Moreover, PLLA upregulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase p85α (PI3-kinase p85α)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling, leading to fibroblast proliferation. PLLA decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2 and MMP3, which destroy collagen and elastin fibers in aged skin. The amount of collagen and elastin fibers in aged skin increased following the PLLA treatment. In conclusion, PLLA causes M2 polarization by increasing IL-4 and IL-13 levels and upregulating TGF-β expression and collagen synthesis in aged skin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyeon Oh
- Functional Cellular Networks Laboratory, Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Republic of Korea
| | - Je Hyuk Lee
- Doctorbom Clinic, Seoul 06614, Republic of Korea
- Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon 21936, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyoung Moon Kim
- Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon 21936, Republic of Korea
| | - Sosorburam Batsukh
- Functional Cellular Networks Laboratory, Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Republic of Korea
- Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon 21936, Republic of Korea
| | | | | | | | - Kuk Hui Son
- Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Gachon University, Incheon 21565, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyunghee Byun
- Functional Cellular Networks Laboratory, Lee Gil Ya Cancer and Diabetes Institute, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Republic of Korea
- Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon 21936, Republic of Korea
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Gachon Advanced Institute for Health & Sciences and Technology (GAIHST), Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Republic of Korea
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Characterization of the Secretome of Pathogenic Candida glabrata and Their Effectiveness against Systemic Candidiasis in BALB/c Mice for Vaccine Development. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14101989. [PMID: 36297425 PMCID: PMC9612021 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14101989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Infections by non-albicans Candida species have increased drastically in the past few decades. Candida glabrata is one of the most common opportunistic fungal pathogens in immunocompromised individuals, owing to its capability to attach to various human cell types and medical devices and being intrinsically weakly susceptible to azoles. Immunotherapy, including the development of antifungal vaccines, has been recognized as an alternative approach for preventing and treating fungal infections. Secretory proteins play a crucial role in establishing host–pathogen interactions and are also responsible for eliciting an immune response in the host during candidiasis. Therefore, fungal secretomes can provide promising protein candidates for antifungal vaccine development. This study attempts to uncover the presence of immunodominant antigenic proteins in the C. glabrata secretome and delineate their role in various biological processes and their potency in the development of antifungal vaccines. LC–MS/MS results uncovered that C. glabrata secretome consisted of 583 proteins, among which 33 were identified as antigenic proteins. The protection ability of secretory proteins against hematogenously disseminated infection caused by C. glabrata was evaluated in BALB/c mice. After immunization and booster doses, all the animals were challenged with a lethal dose of C. glabrata. All the mice showing signs of distress were sacrificed post-infection, and target organs were collected, followed by histopathology and C. glabrata (CFU/mg) estimation. Our results showed a lower fungal burden in target organs and increased survival in immunized mice compared to the infection control group, thus revealing the immunogenic property of secreted proteins. Thus, identified secretome proteins of C. glabrata have the potential to act as antigenic proteins, which can serve as potential candidates for the development of antifungal vaccines. This study also emphasizes the importance of a mass-spectrometry approach to identifying the antigenic proteins in C. glabrata secretome.
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Belyaev I, Marolda A, Praetorius JP, Sarkar A, Medyukhina A, Hünniger K, Kurzai O, Thilo Figge M. Automated Characterisation of Neutrophil Activation Phenotypes in Ex Vivo Human Candida Blood Infections. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:2297-2308. [PMID: 35615019 PMCID: PMC9120255 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Candida bloodstream infections are difficult to diagnose and treat in humans. Infection processes give rise to activation of host immune cells. Immune cell activation is reflected by characteristic cell morphology. Neutrophils exhibit distinct morphodynamics for different Candida species.
Rapid identification of pathogens is required for early diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening bloodstream infections in humans. This requirement is driving the current developments of molecular diagnostic tools identifying pathogens from human whole blood after successful isolation and cultivation. An alternative approach is to determine pathogen-specific signatures from human host immune cells that have been exposed to pathogens. We hypothesise that activated immune cells, such as neutrophils, may exhibit a characteristic behaviour — for instance in terms of their speed, dynamic cell morphology — that allows (i) identifying the type of pathogen indirectly and (ii) providing information on therapeutic efficacy. In this feasibility study, we propose a method for the quantitative assessment of static and morphodynamic features of neutrophils based on label-free time-lapse imaging data. We investigate neutrophil activation phenotypes after confrontation with fungal pathogens and isolation from a human whole-blood assay. In particular, we applied a machine learning supported approach to time-lapse microscopy data from different infection scenarios and were able to distinguish between Candida albicans and C. glabrata infection scenarios with test accuracies well above 75%, and to identify pathogen-free samples with accuracy reaching 100%. These results significantly exceed the test accuracies achieved using state-of-the-art deep neural networks to classify neutrophils by their morphodynamics.
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Shantal CJN, Juan CC, Lizbeth BUS, Carlos HGJ, Estela GPB. Candida glabrata is a successful pathogen: an artist manipulating the immune response. Microbiol Res 2022; 260:127038. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Allert S, Schulz D, Kämmer P, Großmann P, Wolf T, Schäuble S, Panagiotou G, Brunke S, Hube B. From environmental adaptation to host survival: Attributes that mediate pathogenicity of Candida auris. Virulence 2022; 13:191-214. [PMID: 35142597 PMCID: PMC8837256 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2022.2026037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Candida species are a major cause of invasive fungal infections. While Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis are the most dominant species causing life-threatening candidiasis, C. auris recently emerged as a new species causing invasive infections with high rates of clinical treatment failures. To mimic initial phases of systemic Candida infections with dissemination via the bloodstream and to elucidate the pathogenic potential of C. auris, we used an ex vivo whole blood infection model. Similar to other clinically relevant Candida spp., C. auris is efficiently killed in human blood, but showed characteristic patterns of immune cell association, survival rates, and cytokine induction. Dual-species transcriptional profiling of C. auris-infected blood revealed a unique C. auris gene expression program during infection, while the host response proofed similar and conserved compared to other Candida species. C. auris-specific responses included adaptation and survival strategies, such as counteracting oxidative burst of immune cells, but also expression of potential virulence factors, (drug) transporters, and cell surface-associated genes. Despite comparable pathogenicity to other Candida species in our model, C. auris-specific transcriptional adaptations as well as its increased stress resistance and long-term environmental survival, likely contribute to the high risk of contamination and distribution in a nosocomial setting. Moreover, infections of neutrophils with pre-starved C. auris cells suggest that environmental preconditioning can have modulatory effects on the early host interaction. In summary, we present novel insights into C. auris pathogenicity, revealing adaptations to human blood and environmental niches distinctive from other Candida species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Allert
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Daniela Schulz
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Philipp Kämmer
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Peter Großmann
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Unit, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Thomas Wolf
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Unit, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Sascha Schäuble
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Unit, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Gianni Panagiotou
- Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Unit, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany.,Department of Medicine and State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Sascha Brunke
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Bernhard Hube
- Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany.,Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena, Germany
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12
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Investigating Candida glabrata Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Mice Using Bioluminescence Imaging. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7100844. [PMID: 34682265 PMCID: PMC8538756 DOI: 10.3390/jof7100844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are quite common and mainly caused by bacteria such as Escherichia coli. However, when patients have urinary catheters, fungal infections comprise up to 15% of these types of infections. Moreover, fungal UTIs have a high mortality, due to rapid spreading of the fungi to the kidneys. Most fungal UTIs are caused by Candida species, among which Candida albicans and Candida glabrata are the most common. C. glabrata is an opportunistic pathogenic yeast, phylogenetically quite close to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Even though it is commonly isolated from the urinary tract and rapidly acquires resistance to antifungals, its pathogenesis has not been studied extensively in vivo. In vivo studies require high numbers of animals, which can be overcome by the use of non-invasive imaging tools. One such tool, bioluminescence imaging, has been used successfully to study different types of C. albicans infections. For C. glabrata, only biofilms on subcutaneously implanted catheters have been imaged using this tool. In this work, we investigated the progression of C. glabrata UTIs from the bladder to the kidneys and the spleen. Furthermore, we optimized expression of a red-shifted firefly luciferase in C. glabrata for in vivo use. We propose the first animal model using bioluminescence imaging to visualize C. glabrata in mouse tissues. Additionally, this UTI model can be used to monitor antifungal activity in vivo over time.
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13
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Nguyen GT, Xu S, Adams W, Leong JM, Bunnell SC, Mansour MK, Sykes DB, Mecsas J. Neutrophils require SKAP2 for reactive oxygen species production following C-type lectin and Candida stimulation. iScience 2021; 24:102871. [PMID: 34386732 PMCID: PMC8346660 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Signaling cascades converting the recognition of pathogens to efficient inflammatory responses by neutrophils are critical for host survival. SKAP2, an adaptor protein, is required for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation following neutrophil stimulation by integrins, formyl peptide receptors, and for host defense against the Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Using neutrophils from murine HoxB8-immortalized progenitors, we show that SKAP2 in neutrophils is crucial for maximal ROS response to purified C-type lectin receptor agonists and to the fungal pathogens, Candida glabrata and Candida albicans, and for robust killing of C. glabrata. Inside-out signaling to integrin and Syk phosphorylation occurred independently of SKAP2 after Candida infection. However, Pyk2, ERK1/2, and p38 phosphorylation were significantly reduced after infection with C. glabrata and K. pneumoniae in Skap2-/- neutrophils. These data demonstrate the importance of SKAP2 in ROS generation and host defense beyond antibacterial immunity to include CLRs and Candida species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giang T. Nguyen
- Graduate Program in Immunology, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Shuying Xu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Walter Adams
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - John M. Leong
- Graduate Program in Immunology, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA 02111, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Stephen C. Bunnell
- Graduate Program in Immunology, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA 02111, USA
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Michael K. Mansour
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - David B. Sykes
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA 02115, USA
| | - Joan Mecsas
- Graduate Program in Immunology, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA 02111, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
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14
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Host Age and Denture Wearing Jointly Contribute to Oral Colonization with Intrinsically Azole-Resistant Yeasts in the Elderly. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9081627. [PMID: 34442706 PMCID: PMC8400291 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9081627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In elderly patients, several morbidities or medical treatments predisposing for fungal infections occur at a higher frequency, leading to high mortality and morbidity in this vulnerable patient group. Often, this is linked to an innately azole-resistant yeast species such as Candida glabrata or C. krusei. Additionally, host age per se and the wearing of dentures have been determined to influence the mix of colonizing species and, consequently, the species distribution of invasive fungal infections. Since both old age and the wearing of dentures are two tightly connected parameters, it is still unclear which of them is the main contributor. Here, we performed a cross-sectional study on a cohort (N = 274) derived from three groups of healthy elderly, diseased elderly, and healthy young controls. With increasing host age, the frequency of oral colonization by a non-albicans Candida species, mainly by C. glabrata, also increased, and the wearing of dentures predisposed for colonization by C. glabrata irrespectively of host age. Physically diseased hosts, on the other hand, were more frequently orally colonized by C. albicans than by other yeasts. For both C. albicans and C. glabrata, isolates from the oral cavity did not generally display an elevated biofilm formation capacity. In conclusion, intrinsically azole-drug-resistant, non-albicans Candida yeasts are more frequent in the oral cavities of the elderly, and fungal cells not contained in biofilms may predispose for subsequent systemic infection with these organisms. This warrants further exploration of diagnostic procedures, e.g., before undergoing elective abdominal surgery or when using indwelling devices on this patient group.
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15
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Miller R, Harris S, Porter R, Burnett H. Invasive para-aortic Candida glabrata: a multidisciplinary management challenge. BMJ Case Rep 2021; 14:14/6/e240710. [PMID: 34140325 DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2020-240710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
A 69-year-old man was admitted with recurrent fungal bloodstream infection on a background of abdominal aneurysm, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Investigations revealed a para-aortic mass, previously thought to be lymphoma, which was culture positive for Candida glabrata on biopsy. Diagnosis and management involved multidisciplinary teamwork, diagnostic uncertainty and significant risk taking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Miller
- General Medicine, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
| | - Susie Harris
- Geriatrics, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
| | - Robert Porter
- Microbiology, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK
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16
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Belyaev I, Praetorius JP, Medyukhina A, Figge MT. Enhanced segmentation of label-free cells for automated migration and interaction tracking. Cytometry A 2021; 99:1218-1229. [PMID: 34060210 DOI: 10.1002/cyto.a.24466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
In biomedical research, the migration behavior of cells and interactions between various cell types are frequently studied subjects. An automated and quantitative analysis of time-lapse microscopy data is an essential component of these studies, especially when characteristic migration patterns need to be identified. Plenty of software tools have been developed to serve this need. However, the majority of algorithms is designed for fluorescently labeled cells, even though it is well-known that fluorescent labels can substantially interfere with the physiological behavior of interacting cells. We here present a fully revised version of our algorithm for migration and interaction tracking (AMIT), which includes a novel segmentation approach. This approach allows segmenting label-free cells with high accuracy and also enables detecting almost all cells within the field of view. With regard to cell tracking, we designed and implemented a new method for cluster detection and splitting. This method does not rely on any geometrical characteristics of individual objects inside a cluster but relies on monitoring the events of cell-cell fusion from and cluster fission into single cells forward and backward in time. We demonstrate that focusing on these events provides accurate splitting of transient clusters. Furthermore, the substantially improved quantitative analysis of cell migration by the revised version of AMIT is more than two orders of magnitude faster than the previous implementation, which makes it feasible to process video data at higher spatial and temporal resolutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Belyaev
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Jan-Philipp Praetorius
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Anna Medyukhina
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Center for Bioimage Informatics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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17
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Lehnert T, Prauße MTE, Hünniger K, Praetorius JP, Kurzai O, Figge MT. Comparative assessment of immune evasion mechanisms in human whole-blood infection assays by a systems biology approach. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0249372. [PMID: 33793643 PMCID: PMC8016326 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Computer simulations of mathematical models open up the possibility of assessing hypotheses generated by experiments on pathogen immune evasion in human whole-blood infection assays. We apply an interdisciplinary systems biology approach in which virtual infection models implemented for the dissection of specific immune mechanisms are combined with experimental studies to validate or falsify the respective hypotheses. Focusing on the assessment of mechanisms that enable pathogens to evade the immune response in the early time course of a whole-blood infection, the least-square error (LSE) as a measure for the quantitative agreement between the theoretical and experimental kinetics is combined with the Akaike information criterion (AIC) as a measure for the model quality depending on its complexity. In particular, we compare mathematical models with three different types of pathogen immune evasion as well as all their combinations: (i) spontaneous immune evasion, (ii) evasion mediated by immune cells, and (iii) pre-existence of an immune-evasive pathogen subpopulation. For example, by testing theoretical predictions in subsequent imaging experiments, we demonstrate that the simple hypothesis of having a subpopulation of pre-existing immune-evasive pathogens can be ruled out. Furthermore, in this study we extend our previous whole-blood infection assays for the two fungal pathogens Candida albicans and C. glabrata by the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus and calibrated the model predictions to the time-resolved experimental data for each pathogen. Our quantitative assessment generally reveals that models with a lower number of parameters are not only scored with better AIC values, but also exhibit lower values for the LSE. Furthermore, we describe in detail model-specific and pathogen-specific patterns in the kinetics of cell populations that may be measured in future experiments to distinguish and pinpoint the underlying immune mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Lehnert
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Maria T. E. Prauße
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Hünniger
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
- Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jan-Philipp Praetorius
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
- Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- * E-mail:
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18
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Baranov MV, Kumar M, Sacanna S, Thutupalli S, van den Bogaart G. Modulation of Immune Responses by Particle Size and Shape. Front Immunol 2021; 11:607945. [PMID: 33679696 PMCID: PMC7927956 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.607945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The immune system has to cope with a wide range of irregularly shaped pathogens that can actively move (e.g., by flagella) and also dynamically remodel their shape (e.g., transition from yeast-shaped to hyphal fungi). The goal of this review is to draw general conclusions of how the size and geometry of a pathogen affect its uptake and processing by phagocytes of the immune system. We compared both theoretical and experimental studies with different cells, model particles, and pathogenic microbes (particularly fungi) showing that particle size, shape, rigidity, and surface roughness are important parameters for cellular uptake and subsequent immune responses, particularly inflammasome activation and T cell activation. Understanding how the physical properties of particles affect immune responses can aid the design of better vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maksim V. Baranov
- Department of Molecular Immunology and Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Manoj Kumar
- Simons Center for the Study of Living Machines, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
| | - Stefano Sacanna
- Molecular Design Institute, Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Shashi Thutupalli
- Simons Center for the Study of Living Machines, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
- International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
| | - Geert van den Bogaart
- Department of Molecular Immunology and Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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19
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Machata S, Sreekantapuram S, Hünniger K, Kurzai O, Dunker C, Schubert K, Krüger W, Schulze-Richter B, Speth C, Rambach G, Jacobsen ID. Significant Differences in Host-Pathogen Interactions Between Murine and Human Whole Blood. Front Immunol 2021; 11:565869. [PMID: 33519798 PMCID: PMC7843371 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.565869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Murine infection models are widely used to study systemic candidiasis caused by C. albicans. Whole-blood models can help to elucidate host-pathogens interactions and have been used for several Candida species in human blood. We adapted the human whole-blood model to murine blood. Unlike human blood, murine blood was unable to reduce fungal burden and more substantial filamentation of C. albicans was observed. This coincided with less fungal association with leukocytes, especially neutrophils. The lower neutrophil number in murine blood only partially explains insufficient infection and filamentation control, as spiking with murine neutrophils had only limited effects on fungal killing. Furthermore, increased fungal survival is not mediated by enhanced filamentation, as a filament-deficient mutant was likewise not eliminated. We also observed host-dependent differences for interaction of platelets with C. albicans, showing enhanced platelet aggregation, adhesion and activation in murine blood. For human blood, opsonization was shown to decrease platelet interaction suggesting that complement factors interfere with fungus-to-platelet binding. Our results reveal substantial differences between murine and human whole-blood models infected with C. albicans and thereby demonstrate limitations in the translatability of this ex vivo model between hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Machata
- Research Group Microbial Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Sravya Sreekantapuram
- Research Group Microbial Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Hünniger
- Research Group Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Research Group Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christine Dunker
- Research Group Microbial Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Katja Schubert
- Research Group Microbial Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Wibke Krüger
- Research Group Microbial Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Bianca Schulze-Richter
- Research Group Microbial Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Cornelia Speth
- Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Günter Rambach
- Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Ilse D. Jacobsen
- Research Group Microbial Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knoell Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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20
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Chew SY, Brown AJP, Lau BYC, Cheah YK, Ho KL, Sandai D, Yahaya H, Than LTL. Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling revealed reprogramming of carbon metabolism in acetate-grown human pathogen Candida glabrata. J Biomed Sci 2021; 28:1. [PMID: 33388061 PMCID: PMC7778802 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-020-00700-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Emergence of Candida glabrata, which causes potential life-threatening invasive candidiasis, has been widely associated with high morbidity and mortality. In order to cause disease in vivo, a robust and highly efficient metabolic adaptation is crucial for the survival of this fungal pathogen in human host. In fact, reprogramming of the carbon metabolism is believed to be indispensable for phagocytosed C. glabrata within glucose deprivation condition during infection. METHODS In this study, the metabolic responses of C. glabrata under acetate growth condition was explored using high-throughput transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. RESULTS Collectively, a total of 1482 transcripts (26.96%) and 242 proteins (24.69%) were significantly up- or down-regulated. Both transcriptome and proteome data revealed that the regulation of alternative carbon metabolism in C. glabrata resembled other fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans, with up-regulation of many proteins and transcripts from the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis, namely isocitrate lyase (ICL1), malate synthase (MLS1), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK1) and fructose 1,6-biphosphatase (FBP1). In the absence of glucose, C. glabrata shifted its metabolism from glucose catabolism to anabolism of glucose intermediates from the available carbon source. This observation essentially suggests that the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis are potentially critical for the survival of phagocytosed C. glabrata within the glucose-deficient macrophages. CONCLUSION Here, we presented the first global metabolic responses of C. glabrata to alternative carbon source using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. These findings implicated that reprogramming of the alternative carbon metabolism during glucose deprivation could enhance the survival and persistence of C. glabrata within the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Yih Chew
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia
| | - Alistair J. P. Brown
- MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter, Geoffrey Pope Building, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD UK
| | - Benjamin Yii Chung Lau
- Proteomics and Metabolomics (PROMET) Group, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor Malaysia
| | - Yoke Kqueen Cheah
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia
| | - Kok Lian Ho
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia
| | - Doblin Sandai
- Infectomics Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 13200 Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang Malaysia
| | - Hassan Yahaya
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria
| | - Leslie Thian Lung Than
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Malaysia
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21
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Survival Strategies of Pathogenic Candida Species in Human Blood Show Independent and Specific Adaptations. mBio 2020; 11:mBio.02435-20. [PMID: 33024045 PMCID: PMC7542370 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02435-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To ensure their survival, pathogens have to adapt immediately to new environments in their hosts, for example, during the transition from the gut to the bloodstream. Here, we investigated the basis of this adaptation in a group of fungal species which are among the most common causes of hospital-acquired infections, the Candida species. On the basis of a human whole-blood infection model, we studied which genes and processes are active over the course of an infection in both the host and four different Candida pathogens. Remarkably, we found that, while the human host response during the early phase of infection is predominantly uniform, the pathogens pursue largely individual strategies and each one regulates genes involved in largely disparate processes in the blood. Our results reveal that C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis all have developed individual strategies for survival in the host. This indicates that their pathogenicity in humans has evolved several times independently and that genes which are central for survival in the host for one species may be irrelevant in another. Only four species, Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis, together account for about 90% of all Candida bloodstream infections and are among the most common causes of invasive fungal infections of humans. However, virulence potential varies among these species, and the phylogenetic tree reveals that their pathogenicity may have emerged several times independently during evolution. We therefore tested these four species in a human whole-blood infection model to determine, via comprehensive dual-species RNA-sequencing analyses, which fungal infection strategies are conserved and which are recent evolutionary developments. The ex vivo infection progressed from initial immune cell interactions to nearly complete killing of all fungal cells. During the course of infection, we characterized important parameters of pathogen-host interactions, such as fungal survival, types of interacting immune cells, and cytokine release. On the transcriptional level, we obtained a predominantly uniform and species-independent human response governed by a strong upregulation of proinflammatory processes, which was downregulated at later time points after most of the fungal cells were killed. In stark contrast, we observed that the different fungal species pursued predominantly individual strategies and showed significantly different global transcriptome patterns. Among other findings, our functional analyses revealed that the fungal species relied on different metabolic pathways and virulence factors to survive the host-imposed stress. These data show that adaptation of Candida species as a response to the host is not a phylogenetic trait, but rather has likely evolved independently as a prerequisite to cause human infections.
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22
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Arend N, Pittner A, Ramoji A, Mondol AS, Dahms M, Rüger J, Kurzai O, Schie IW, Bauer M, Popp J, Neugebauer U. Detection and Differentiation of Bacterial and Fungal Infection of Neutrophils from Peripheral Blood Using Raman Spectroscopy. Anal Chem 2020; 92:10560-10568. [PMID: 32613830 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c01384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Neutrophils are important cells of the innate immune system and the major leukocyte subpopulation in blood. They are responsible for recognizing and neutralizing invading pathogens, such as bacteria or fungi. For this, neutrophils are well equipped with pathogen recognizing receptors, cytokines, effector molecules, and granules filled with reactive oxygen species (ROS)-producing enzymes. Depending on the pathogen type, different reactions are triggered, which result in specific activation states of the neutrophils. Here, we aim to establish a label-free method to indirectly detect infections and to identify the cause of infection by spectroscopic characterization of the neutrophils. For this, isolated neutrophils from human peripheral blood were stimulated in an in vitro infection model with heat-inactivated Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial pathogens as well as with heat-inactivated and viable fungi (Candida albicans). Label-free and nondestructive Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize neutrophils on a single cell level. Phagocytized fungi could be visualized in a few high-resolution false color images of individual neutrophils using label-free Raman spectroscopic imaging. Using a high-throughput screening Raman spectroscope (HTS-RS), Raman spectra of more than 2000 individual neutrophils from three different donors were collected in each treatment group, yielding a data set of almost 20 000 neutrophil spectra. Random forest classification models were trained to differentiate infected and noninfected cells with high accuracy (90%). Among the neutrophils challenged with pathogens, even the cause of infection, bacterial or fungal, was predicted correctly with 92% accuracy. Therefore, Raman spectroscopy enables reliable neutrophil phenotyping and infection diagnosis in a label-free manner. In contrast to the microbiological diagnostic standard, where the pathogen is isolated in time-consuming cultivation, this Raman-based method could potentially be blood-culture independent, thus saving precious time in bloodstream infection diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Arend
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany
| | - Angelina Pittner
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany
| | - Anuradha Ramoji
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany.,Institute for Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Abdullah S Mondol
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany
| | - Marcel Dahms
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany.,InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena, Reg. Assoc., Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Jan Rüger
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany.,Centre for Innovation Competence Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knoell-Institute, Albert-Einstein-Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.,Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2/E1, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Iwan W Schie
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany.,Department of Medical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Jena, Carl-Zeiss-Promenade 2, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Bauer
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany
| | - Jürgen Popp
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany.,InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena, Reg. Assoc., Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany.,Institute for Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Ute Neugebauer
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena 07745, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany.,InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena, Reg. Assoc., Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany.,Institute for Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany
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Rasheed M, Battu A, Kaur R. Host-pathogen interaction in Candida glabrata infection: current knowledge and implications for antifungal therapy. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 2020; 18:1093-1103. [PMID: 32668993 DOI: 10.1080/14787210.2020.1792773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida glabrata poses a clinical challenge in the successful treatment of invasive Candida infections, owing to its low inherent susceptibility toward azole antifungals and the recent acquisition of coresistance toward azole and echinocandin drugs. Compared to other prevalent Candida bloodstream pathogens, C. glabrata neither exhibits secreted proteolytic activity nor invokes a strong immune response in a variety of host cells and is less virulent. It also does not form true hyphae, and the success of C. glabrata, therefore, as a prevalent human fungal pathogen, appears to be built upon a distinct set of virulence attributes. AREAS COVERED The focus of this review is to outline, in brief, the interaction of C. glabrata with the host, deduced from the knowledge gained from different in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo model systems. In addition, we briefly discuss the current antifungals, antifungal resistance mechanisms, and the development of new antifungal therapies, along with the available information on the host response. EXPERT OPINION A detailed understanding of stresses, selection pressures and differential immune responses in the presence and absence of antifungals that C. glabrata encounters in varied niches of the host, is required to design effective antifungal therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mubashshir Rasheed
- Laboratory of Fungal Pathogenesis, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics , Hyderabad, India
| | - Anamika Battu
- Laboratory of Fungal Pathogenesis, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics , Hyderabad, India.,Graduate Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education , Manipal, India
| | - Rupinder Kaur
- Laboratory of Fungal Pathogenesis, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics , Hyderabad, India
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24
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Al-Mahmood A, Al-Sharifi E. Epidemiological Characteristics and Risk Factors of Tinea Pedis Disease Among Adults Attending Tikrit Teaching Hospital/ Iraq. Infect Disord Drug Targets 2020; 21:384-388. [PMID: 32634085 DOI: 10.2174/1871526520666200707114509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tinea pedis is one of the most common skin infections of interdigital toe webspace as well as feet skin and may affect the nail or the hand. It is caused by dermophytes fungi especially Trichophyton species. Direct contact with a contaminated environment or animal is the main mode of transmission. Tinea pedis is more frequent among adults than children and more among those with the previous infection with the disease, diabetes mellites, abnormally increased sweating, and the disease is common among individuals who wear unventilated (occlusive) footwear. Tinea pedis is 2-4 times more common in men than females. AIM OF THE STUDY To study the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors of tinea pedis disease. METHODS Descriptive study was conducted on patients attending the dermatology outpatient clinic in Tikrit Teaching Hospital, Tikrit, Iraq. The study was done during the period from 1st November 2018-10th June 2019. The sample included 680 persons. The cases were diagnosed clinically and by a direct microscope. The demographic information of patients was obtained according to certain questionnaire design. The study was done to reveal the epidemiology of tenia pedis disease among affected patients. RESULTS The frequency of tinea pedis cases among the study sample was 7% (48/ 680). It has been observed that there was no significant association as a result of the difference in gender, body weight, positive family history, history, presence of fungal skin disease, and presence of nail trauma. On the contrary, a significant association was observed as a result of the presence of the young age group, diabetes mellitus, and history of wearing occlusive shoes. CONCLUSION The frequency of tinea pedis disease among the study sample was 7%. There was a significant association between age group and the presence of diabetes mellitus disease and wearing occlusive shoes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ehan Al-Sharifi
- Ibin Sina University Of Medical And Pharmaceutical Sciences, Basic Sciences, Baghdad, Iraq
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25
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Cseresnyes Z, Hassan MIA, Dahse HM, Voigt K, Figge MT. Quantitative Impact of Cell Membrane Fluorescence Labeling on Phagocytosis Measurements in Confrontation Assays. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:1193. [PMID: 32582113 PMCID: PMC7289966 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Phagocytosis is series of steps where the pathogens and the immune cells interact during an invasion. This starts with the adhesion process between the host and pathogen cells, and is followed by the engulfment of the pathogens. Many analytical methods that are applied to characterize phagocytosis based on imaging the host-pathogen confrontation assays rely on the fluorescence labeling of cells. However, the potential effect of the membrane labeling on the quantitative results of the confrontation assays has not been studied in detail. In this study, we determine whether the fluorescence labeling processes themselves influence the results of the phagocytosis measurements. Here, alveolar macrophages, which form one of the most important compartments of the innate immune system, were used as an example of host cells, whereas Aspergillus fumigatus and Lichtheimia corymbifera that cause aspergillosis and mucormycosis, respectively, were studied as examples for pathogens. At first, our study investigated the importance of the sequence of steps of the fixation process when preparing the confrontation assay sample for microscopy studies. Here we showed that applying the fixation agent before the counter-staining causes miscalculations during the determination of the phagocytic measures. Furthermore, we also found that staining the macrophages with various concentrations of DID, as a typical membrane label, in most cases altered the capability of macrophages to phagocytose FITC-stained A. fumigatus and L. corymbifera spores in comparison with unlabeled macrophages. This effect of the DID staining showed a differential character dependent upon the labeling status and the specific type of pathogen. Moreover, labeling the spores of A. fumigatus and L. corymbifera with FITC increased the phagocytic measures during confrontation with unlabeled macrophages when compared to label-free spores. Overall, our study confirms that the staining process itself may significantly manipulate the quantitative outcome of the confrontation assay. As a result of our study, we also developed a user-friendly image analysis tool that analyses confrontation assays both with and without fluorescence labeling of the host cells and of the pathogens. Our image analysis algorithm saves experimental work effort and time, provides more precise results when calculating the phagocytic measures, and delivers a convenient analysis tool for the biologists to monitor host-pathogen interactions as they happen without the artifacts that fluorescence labeling imposes on biological interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoltan Cseresnyes
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Mohamed I. Abdelwahab Hassan
- Jena Microbial Resource Collection, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Department of Pests and Plant Protection, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt
| | - Hans-Martin Dahse
- Infection Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Voigt
- Jena Microbial Resource Collection, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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26
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Virulence assessment of six major pathogenic Candida species in the mouse model of invasive candidiasis caused by fungal translocation. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3814. [PMID: 32123235 PMCID: PMC7052222 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60792-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Gastrointestinal colonization has been considered as the primary source of candidaemia; however, few established mouse models are available that mimic this infection route. We therefore developed a reproducible mouse model of invasive candidiasis initiated by fungal translocation and compared the virulence of six major pathogenic Candida species. The mice were fed a low-protein diet and then inoculated intragastrically with Candida cells. Oral antibiotics and cyclophosphamide were then administered to facilitate colonization and subsequent dissemination of Candida cells. Mice infected with Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis exhibited higher mortality than mice infected with the other four species. Among the less virulent species, stool titres of Candida glabrata and Candida parapsilosis were higher than those of Candida krusei and Candida guilliermondii. The fungal burdens of C. parapsilosis and C. krusei in the livers and kidneys were significantly greater than those of C. guilliermondii. Histopathologically, C. albicans demonstrated the highest pathogenicity to invade into gut mucosa and liver tissues causing marked necrosis. Overall, this model allowed analysis of the virulence traits of Candida strains in individual mice including colonization in the gut, penetration into intestinal mucosa, invasion into blood vessels, and the subsequent dissemination leading to lethal infections.
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27
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Marolda A, Hünniger K, Böttcher S, Vivas W, Löffler J, Figge MT, Kurzai O. Candida Species-Dependent Release of IL-12 by Dendritic Cells Induces Different Levels of NK Cell Stimulation. J Infect Dis 2020; 221:2060-2071. [DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Accepted: 01/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Candida albicans and Candida glabrata are the 2 most prevalent Candida species causing bloodstream infections. Patterns of innate immune activation triggered by the 2 fungi differ considerably.
Methods
To analyze human natural killer (NK) cell activation by both species, we performed ex vivo whole-blood infection assays and confrontation assays with primary human NK cells.
Results
C. albicans was a stronger activator for isolated human NK cells than C. glabrata. In contrast, activation of blood NK cells, characterized by an upregulated surface exposure of early activation antigen CD69 and death receptor ligand TRAIL, as well as interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secretion, was more pronounced during C. glabrata infection. NK cell activation in blood is mediated by humoral mediators released by other immune cells and does not depend on direct activation by fungal cells. Cross-talk between Candida-confronted monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDC) and NK cells resulted in the same NK activation phenotype as NK cells in human blood. Blocking experiments and cytokine substitution identified interleukin-12 as a critical mediator in regulation of primary NK cells by moDC.
Conclusions
Activation of human NK cells in response to Candida in human blood mainly occurs indirectly by mediators released from monocytic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Marolda
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Hünniger
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sarah Böttcher
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Vivas
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Jürgen Löffler
- Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology-Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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28
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Chew SY, Chee WJY, Than LTL. The glyoxylate cycle and alternative carbon metabolism as metabolic adaptation strategies of Candida glabrata: perspectives from Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Biomed Sci 2019; 26:52. [PMID: 31301737 PMCID: PMC6626413 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-019-0546-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Carbon utilization and metabolism are fundamental to every living organism for cellular growth. For intracellular human fungal pathogens such as Candida glabrata, an effective metabolic adaptation strategy is often required for survival and pathogenesis. As one of the host defence strategies to combat invading pathogens, phagocytes such as macrophages constantly impose restrictions on pathogens' access to their preferred carbon source, glucose. Surprisingly, it has been reported that engulfed C. glabrata are able to survive in this harsh microenvironment, further suggesting alternative carbon metabolism as a potential strategy for this opportunistic fungal pathogen to persist in the host. MAIN TEXT In this review, we discuss alternative carbon metabolism as a metabolic adaptation strategy for the pathogenesis of C. glabrata. As the glyoxylate cycle is an important pathway in the utilization of alternative carbon sources, we also highlight the key metabolic enzymes in the glyoxylate cycle and its necessity for the pathogenesis of C. glabrata. Finally, we explore the transcriptional regulatory network of the glyoxylate cycle. CONCLUSION Considering evidence from Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, this review summarizes the current knowledge of the glyoxylate cycle as an alternative carbon metabolic pathway of C. glabrata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Yih Chew
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Wallace Jeng Yang Chee
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Leslie Thian Lung Than
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
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29
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Al-Zaben N, Medyukhina A, Dietrich S, Marolda A, Hünniger K, Kurzai O, Figge MT. Automated tracking of label-free cells with enhanced recognition of whole tracks. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3317. [PMID: 30824740 PMCID: PMC6397148 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39725-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Migration and interactions of immune cells are routinely studied by time-lapse microscopy of in vitro migration and confrontation assays. To objectively quantify the dynamic behavior of cells, software tools for automated cell tracking can be applied. However, many existing tracking algorithms recognize only rather short fragments of a whole cell track and rely on cell staining to enhance cell segmentation. While our previously developed segmentation approach enables tracking of label-free cells, it still suffers from frequently recognizing only short track fragments. In this study, we identify sources of track fragmentation and provide solutions to obtain longer cell tracks. This is achieved by improving the detection of low-contrast cells and by optimizing the value of the gap size parameter, which defines the number of missing cell positions between track fragments that is accepted for still connecting them into one track. We find that the enhanced track recognition increases the average length of cell tracks up to 2.2-fold. Recognizing cell tracks as a whole will enable studying and quantifying more complex patterns of cell behavior, e.g. switches in migration mode or dependence of the phagocytosis efficiency on the number and type of preceding interactions. Such quantitative analyses will improve our understanding of how immune cells interact and function in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naim Al-Zaben
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Anna Medyukhina
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
| | - Stefanie Dietrich
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Alessandra Marolda
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.,Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Hünniger
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany. .,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany. .,Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
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30
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Chew SY, Ho KL, Cheah YK, Ng TS, Sandai D, Brown AJP, Than LTL. Glyoxylate cycle gene ICL1 is essential for the metabolic flexibility and virulence of Candida glabrata. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2843. [PMID: 30808979 PMCID: PMC6391369 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39117-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The human fungal pathogen Candida glabrata appears to utilise unique stealth, evasion and persistence strategies in subverting the onslaught of host immune response during systemic infection. However, macrophages actively deprive the intracellular fungal pathogen of glucose, and therefore alternative carbon sources probably support the growth and survival of engulfed C. glabrata. The present study aimed to investigate the role of the glyoxylate cycle gene ICL1 in alternative carbon utilisation and its importance for the virulence of C. glabrata. The data showed that disruption of ICL1 rendered C. glabrata unable to utilise acetate, ethanol or oleic acid. In addition, C. glabrata icl1∆ cells displayed significantly reduced biofilm growth in the presence of several alternative carbon sources. It was also found that ICL1 is crucial for the survival of C. glabrata in response to macrophage engulfment. Disruption of ICL1 also conferred a severe attenuation in the virulence of C. glabrata in the mouse model of invasive candidiasis. In conclusion, a functional glyoxylate cycle is essential for C. glabrata to utilise certain alternative carbon sources in vitro and to display full virulence in vivo. This reinforces the view that antifungal drugs that target fungal Icl1 have potential for future therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Yih Chew
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Kok Lian Ho
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Yoke Kqueen Cheah
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Tzu Shan Ng
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Doblin Sandai
- Infectomics Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 13200, Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Alistair J P Brown
- MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, United Kingdom
| | - Leslie Thian Lung Than
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
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31
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Li D, Bai C, Zhang Q, Li Z, Shao D, Li X. β-1,3-Glucan/CR3/SYK pathway-dependent LC3B-II accumulation enhanced the fungicidal activity in human neutrophils. J Microbiol 2019; 57:263-270. [PMID: 30721460 DOI: 10.1007/s12275-019-8298-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2018] [Revised: 10/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Since molecular genotyping has been established for the Candida species, studies have found that a single Candida strain (endemic strain) can persist over a long period of time and results in the spread of nosocomial invasive candidiasis without general characteristics of horizontal transmissions. Our previous study also found the existence of endemic strains in a cancer center in Tianjin, China. In the current study, we performed further investigation on endemic and non-endemic Candida albicans strains, with the aim of explaining the higher morbidity of endemic strains. In an in vivo experiment, mice infected with endemic strains showed significantly shorter survival time and higher kidney fungal burdens compared to mice infected with non-endemic strains. In an in vitro experiment, the killing percentage of neutrophils to endemic strains was significantly lower than that to non-endemic strains, which is positively linked to the ratio of LC3B-II/I in neutrophils. An immunofluorescence assay showed more β-1,3-glucan exposure on the cell walls of non-endemic strains compared to endemic strains. After blocking the β-glucan receptor (CR3) or inhibiting downstream kinase (SYK) in neutrophils, the killing percent to C. albicans (regardless of endemic and non-endemic strains) and the ratio of LC3B-II/I of neutrophils were significantly decreased. These data suggested that the killing capability of neutrophils to C. albicans was monitored by β-1,3-glucan via CR3/SYK pathway-dependent LC3B-II accumulation and provided an explanation for the variable killing capability of neutrophils to different strains of C. albicans, which would be beneficial in improving infection control and therapeutic strategies for invasive candidiasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ding Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, P. R. China.
| | - Changsen Bai
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, P. R. China
| | - Qing Zhang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, P. R. China
| | - Zheng Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, P. R. China
| | - Di Shao
- Denali Medpharma Co., Ltd, Chongqing, 400000, P. R. China.
| | - Xichuan Li
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, P. R. China.
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32
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Candida glabrata: A Lot More Than Meets the Eye. Microorganisms 2019; 7:microorganisms7020039. [PMID: 30704135 PMCID: PMC6407134 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7020039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Candida glabrata is an opportunistic human fungal pathogen that causes superficial mucosal and life-threatening bloodstream infections in individuals with a compromised immune system. Evolutionarily, it is closer to the non-pathogenic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae than to the most prevalent Candida bloodstream pathogen, C. albicans. C. glabrata is a haploid budding yeast that predominantly reproduces clonally. In this review, we summarize interactions of C. glabrata with the host immune, epithelial and endothelial cells, and the ingenious strategies it deploys to acquire iron and phosphate from the external environment. We outline various attributes including cell surface-associated adhesins and aspartyl proteases, biofilm formation and stress response mechanisms, that contribute to the virulence of C. glabrata. We further discuss how, C. glabrata, despite lacking morphological switching and secreted proteolytic activity, is able to disarm macrophage, dampen the host inflammatory immune response and replicate intracellularly.
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33
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Candida sp. Infections in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus. J Clin Med 2019; 8:jcm8010076. [PMID: 30634716 PMCID: PMC6352194 DOI: 10.3390/jcm8010076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 12/27/2018] [Accepted: 01/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Candidiasis has increased substantially worldwide over recent decades and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among critically ill patients. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder that predisposes individuals to fungal infections, including those related to Candida sp., due to a immunosuppressive effect on the patient. This review aims to discuss the latest studies regarding the occurrence of candidiasis on DM patients and the pathophysiology and etiology associated with these co-morbidities. A comprehensive review of the literature was undertaken. PubMed, Scopus, Elsevier’s ScienceDirect, and Springer’s SpringerLink databases were searched using well-defined search terms. Predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to classify relevant manuscripts. Results of the review show that DM patients have an increased susceptibility to Candida sp. infections which aggravates in the cases of uncontrolled hyperglycemia. The conclusion is that, for these patients, the hospitalization periods have increased and are commonly associated with the prolonged use of indwelling medical devices, which also increase the costs associated with disease management.
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Hünniger K, Kurzai O. Phagocytes as central players in the defence against invasive fungal infection. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2018; 89:3-15. [PMID: 29601862 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2018.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Fungal pathogens cause severe and life-threatening infections worldwide. The majority of invasive infections occurs in immunocompromised patients and is based on acquired as well as congenital defects of innate and adaptive immune responses. In many cases, these defects affect phagocyte functions. Consequently, professional phagocytes - mainly monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells and polymorphonuclear neutrophilic granulocytes - have been shown to act as central players in initiating and modulating antifungal immune responses as well as elimination of fungal pathogens. In this review we will summarize our current understanding on the role of these professional phagocytes in invasive fungal infection to emphasize two important aspects. (i) Analyses on the interaction between fungi and phagocytes have contributed to significant new insights into phagocyte biology. Important examples for this include the identification of pattern recognition receptors for β-glucan, a major cell wall component of many fungal pathogens, as well as the identification of genetic polymorphisms that determine individual host responses towards invading fungi. (ii) At the same time it was shown that fungal pathogens have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to counteract the attack of professional phagocytes. These mechanisms range from complete mechanical destruction of phagocytes to exquisite adaptation of some fungi to the hostile intracellular environment, enabling them to grow and replicate inside professional phagocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Hünniger
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Septomics Research Center, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Septomics Research Center, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knoell-Institute, Jena, Germany.
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Timme S, Lehnert T, Prauße MTE, Hünniger K, Leonhardt I, Kurzai O, Figge MT. Quantitative Simulations Predict Treatment Strategies Against Fungal Infections in Virtual Neutropenic Patients. Front Immunol 2018; 9:667. [PMID: 29670632 PMCID: PMC5893870 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The condition of neutropenia, i.e., a reduced absolute neutrophil count in blood, constitutes a major risk factor for severe infections in the affected patients. Candida albicans and Candida glabrata are opportunistic pathogens and the most prevalent fungal species in the human microbiota. In immunocompromised patients, they can become pathogenic and cause infections with high mortality rates. In this study, we use a previously established approach that combines experiments and computational models to investigate the innate immune response during blood stream infections with the two fungal pathogens C. albicans and C. glabrata. First, we determine immune-reaction rates and migration parameters under healthy conditions. Based on these findings, we simulate virtual patients and investigate the impact of neutropenic conditions on the infection outcome with the respective pathogen. Furthermore, we perform in silico treatments of these virtual patients by simulating a medical treatment that enhances neutrophil activity in terms of phagocytosis and migration. We quantify the infection outcome by comparing the response to the two fungal pathogens relative to non-neutropenic individuals. The analysis reveals that these fungal infections in neutropenic patients can be successfully cleared by cytokine treatment of the remaining neutrophils; and that this treatment is more effective for C. glabrata than for C. albicans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Timme
- Research Group Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Teresa Lehnert
- Research Group Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Maria T. E. Prauße
- Research Group Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Hünniger
- Fungal Septomics, Septomics Research Center, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ines Leonhardt
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Fungal Septomics, Septomics Research Center, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Fungal Septomics, Septomics Research Center, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
- Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Research Group Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology—Hans Knöll Institute, Jena, Germany
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
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Prauße MTE, Lehnert T, Timme S, Hünniger K, Leonhardt I, Kurzai O, Figge MT. Predictive Virtual Infection Modeling of Fungal Immune Evasion in Human Whole Blood. Front Immunol 2018; 9:560. [PMID: 29619027 PMCID: PMC5871695 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bloodstream infections by the human-pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Candida glabrata increasingly occur in hospitalized patients and are associated with high mortality rates. The early immune response against these fungi in human blood comprises a concerted action of humoral and cellular components of the innate immune system. Upon entering the blood, the majority of fungal cells will be eliminated by innate immune cells, i.e., neutrophils and monocytes. However, recent studies identified a population of fungal cells that can evade the immune response and thereby may disseminate and cause organ dissemination, which is frequently observed during candidemia. In this study, we investigate the so far unresolved mechanism of fungal immune evasion in human whole blood by testing hypotheses with the help of mathematical modeling. We use a previously established state-based virtual infection model for whole-blood infection with C. albicans to quantify the immune response and identified the fungal immune-evasion mechanism. While this process was assumed to be spontaneous in the previous model, we now hypothesize that the immune-evasion process is mediated by host factors and incorporate such a mechanism in the model. In particular, we propose, based on previous studies that the fungal immune-evasion mechanism could possibly arise through modification of the fungal surface by as of yet unknown proteins that are assumed to be secreted by activated neutrophils. To validate or reject any of the immune-evasion mechanisms, we compared the simulation of both immune-evasion models for different infection scenarios, i.e., infection of whole blood with either C. albicans or C. glabrata under non-neutropenic and neutropenic conditions. We found that under non-neutropenic conditions, both immune-evasion models fit the experimental data from whole-blood infection with C. albicans and C. glabrata. However, differences between the immune-evasion models could be observed for the infection outcome under neutropenic conditions with respect to the distribution of fungal cells across the immune cells. Based on these predictions, we suggested specific experimental studies that might allow for the validation or rejection of the proposed immune-evasion mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria T E Prauße
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Teresa Lehnert
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Sandra Timme
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Hünniger
- Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ines Leonhardt
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.,Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.,Fungal Septomics, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany.,Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.,Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
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Rasheed M, Battu A, Kaur R. Aspartyl proteases in Candida glabrata are required for suppression of the host innate immune response. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:6410-6433. [PMID: 29491142 PMCID: PMC5925793 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m117.813741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
A family of 11 cell surface-associated aspartyl proteases (CgYps1-11), also referred as yapsins, is a key virulence factor in the pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata However, the mechanism by which CgYapsins modulate immune response and facilitate survival in the mammalian host remains to be identified. Here, using RNA-Seq analysis, we report that genes involved in cell wall metabolism are differentially regulated in the Cgyps1-11Δ mutant. Consistently, the mutant contained lower β-glucan and mannan levels and exhibited increased chitin content in the cell wall. As cell wall components are known to regulate the innate immune response, we next determined the macrophage transcriptional response to C. glabrata infection and observed differential expression of genes implicated in inflammation, chemotaxis, ion transport, and the tumor necrosis factor signaling cascade. Importantly, the Cgyps1-11Δ mutant evoked a different immune response, resulting in an enhanced release of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β in THP-1 macrophages. Further, Cgyps1-11Δ-induced IL-1β production adversely affected intracellular proliferation of co-infected WT cells and depended on activation of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) signaling in the host cells. Accordingly, the Syk inhibitor R406 augmented intracellular survival of the Cgyps1-11Δ mutant. Finally, we demonstrate that C. glabrata infection triggers elevated IL-1β production in mouse organs and that the CgYPS genes are required for organ colonization and dissemination in the murine model of systemic infection. Altogether, our results uncover the basis for macrophage-mediated killing of Cgyps1-11Δ cells and provide the first evidence that aspartyl proteases in C. glabrata are required for suppression of IL-1β production in macrophages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mubashshir Rasheed
- From the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Uppal, Hyderabad 500039 and.,Graduate Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
| | - Anamika Battu
- From the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Uppal, Hyderabad 500039 and.,Graduate Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India
| | - Rupinder Kaur
- From the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Uppal, Hyderabad 500039 and
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Niemiec MJ, Grumaz C, Ermert D, Desel C, Shankar M, Lopes JP, Mills IG, Stevens P, Sohn K, Urban CF. Dual transcriptome of the immediate neutrophil and Candida albicans interplay. BMC Genomics 2017; 18:696. [PMID: 28874114 PMCID: PMC5585943 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-4097-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Neutrophils are traditionally considered transcriptionally inactive. Compared to other immune cells, little is known about their transcriptional profile during interaction with pathogens. Methods We analyzed the meta-transcriptome of the neutrophil-Candida albicans interplay and the transcriptome of C. albicans challenged with neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by RNA-Seq, considering yeast and hypha individually in each approach. Results The neutrophil response to C. albicans yeast and hyphae was dominated by a morphotype-independent core response. However, 11 % of all differentially expressed genes were regulated in a specific manner when neutrophils encountered the hyphal form of C. albicans. While involving genes for transcriptional regulators, receptors, and cytokines, the neutrophil core response lacked typical antimicrobial effectors genes. Genes of the NOD-like receptor pathway, including NLRP3, were enriched. Neutrophil- and NET-provoked responses in C. albicans differed. At the same time, the Candida transcriptome upon neutrophil encounter and upon NET challenge included genes from various metabolic processes and indicate a mutual role of the regulators Tup1p, Efg1p, Hap43p, and Cap1p. Upon challenge with neutrophils and NETs, the overall Candida response was partially morphotype-specific. Yet again, actual oppositional regulation in yeasts and hyphae was only detected for the arginine metabolism in neutrophil-infecting C. albicans. Conclusions Taken together, our study provides a comprehensive and quantitative transcript profile of the neutrophil–C. albicans interaction. By considering the two major appearances of both, neutrophils and C. albicans, our study reveals yet undescribed insights into this medically relevant encounter. Hence, our findings will facilitate future research and potentially inspire novel therapy developments. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-017-4097-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria J Niemiec
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) & Laboratory of Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, Umea, Sweden.,Present Address: Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute (HKI), Jena, Germany & Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Grumaz
- Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - David Ermert
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) & Laboratory of Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, Umea, Sweden.,Present Address: Division of Medical Protein Chemistry, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Christiane Desel
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.,Present Address: The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Madhu Shankar
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) & Laboratory of Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, Umea, Sweden
| | - José Pedro Lopes
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) & Laboratory of Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, Umea, Sweden
| | - Ian G Mills
- Prostate Cancer Research Group, Center of Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM), Oslo, Norway.,Department of Molecular Oncology, Institute of Cancer Research, Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,PCUK/Movember Centre of Excellence for Prostate Cancer Research, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB), Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Philip Stevens
- University of Stuttgart IGVP, Stuttgart, Germany.,Center for Integrative Bioinformatics Vienna, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kai Sohn
- Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Constantin F Urban
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) & Laboratory of Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, Umea, Sweden.
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Brandes S, Dietrich S, Hünniger K, Kurzai O, Figge MT. Migration and interaction tracking for quantitative analysis of phagocyte–pathogen confrontation assays. Med Image Anal 2017; 36:172-183. [DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2016.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Revised: 09/06/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Singh A, Lelis F, Braig S, Schäfer I, Hartl D, Rieber N. Differential Regulation of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells by Candida Species. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:1624. [PMID: 27790210 PMCID: PMC5061774 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are innate immune cells characterized by their ability to suppress T-cell responses. Recently, we demonstrated that the human-pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus induced a distinct subset of neutrophilic MDSCs. To dissect Candida-mediated MDSC induction in more depth, we studied the relative efficacy of different pathogenic non-albicans Candida species to induce and functionally modulate neutrophilic MDSCs, including C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. dubliniensis, and C. krusei. Our data demonstrate that the extent of MDSC generation is largely dependent on the Candida species with MDSCs induced by C. krusei and C. glabrata showing a higher suppressive activity compared to MDSCs induced by C. albicans. In summary, these studies show that fungal MDSC induction is differentially regulated at the species level and differentially affects effector T-cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anurag Singh
- University Children's Hospital and Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
| | - Felipe Lelis
- University Children's Hospital and Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stefanie Braig
- University Children's Hospital and Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
| | - Iris Schäfer
- University Children's Hospital and Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dominik Hartl
- University Children's Hospital and Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nikolaus Rieber
- University Children's Hospital and Interdisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of TübingenTübingen, Germany; Department of Pediatrics, Kinderklinik München Schwabing, StKM GmbH und Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität MünchenMunich, Germany
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Whibley N, Gaffen SL. Beyond Candida albicans: Mechanisms of immunity to non-albicans Candida species. Cytokine 2015; 76:42-52. [PMID: 26276374 DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2015.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Revised: 07/27/2015] [Accepted: 07/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The fungal genus Candida encompasses numerous species that inhabit a variety of hosts, either as commensal microbes and/or pathogens. Candida species are a major cause of fungal infections, yet to date there are no vaccines against Candida or indeed any other fungal pathogen. Our knowledge of immunity to Candida mainly comes from studies on Candida albicans, the most frequent species associated with disease. However, non-albicans Candida (NAC) species also cause disease and their prevalence is increasing. Although research into immunity to NAC species is still at an early stage, it is becoming apparent that immunity to C. albicans differs in important ways from non-albicans species, with important implications for treatment, therapy and predicted demographic susceptibility. This review will discuss the current understanding of immunity to NAC species in the context of immunity to C. albicans, and highlight as-yet unanswered questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Whibley
- Division of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, Dept. of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | - Sarah L Gaffen
- Division of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, Dept. of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA; Division of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, BST S702, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
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Lehnert T, Timme S, Pollmächer J, Hünniger K, Kurzai O, Figge MT. Bottom-up modeling approach for the quantitative estimation of parameters in pathogen-host interactions. Front Microbiol 2015; 6:608. [PMID: 26150807 PMCID: PMC4473060 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 06/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Opportunistic fungal pathogens can cause bloodstream infection and severe sepsis upon entering the blood stream of the host. The early immune response in human blood comprises the elimination of pathogens by antimicrobial peptides and innate immune cells, such as neutrophils or monocytes. Mathematical modeling is a predictive method to examine these complex processes and to quantify the dynamics of pathogen-host interactions. Since model parameters are often not directly accessible from experiment, their estimation is required by calibrating model predictions with experimental data. Depending on the complexity of the mathematical model, parameter estimation can be associated with excessively high computational costs in terms of run time and memory. We apply a strategy for reliable parameter estimation where different modeling approaches with increasing complexity are used that build on one another. This bottom-up modeling approach is applied to an experimental human whole-blood infection assay for Candida albicans. Aiming for the quantification of the relative impact of different routes of the immune response against this human-pathogenic fungus, we start from a non-spatial state-based model (SBM), because this level of model complexity allows estimating a priori unknown transition rates between various system states by the global optimization method simulated annealing. Building on the non-spatial SBM, an agent-based model (ABM) is implemented that incorporates the migration of interacting cells in three-dimensional space. The ABM takes advantage of estimated parameters from the non-spatial SBM, leading to a decreased dimensionality of the parameter space. This space can be scanned using a local optimization approach, i.e., least-squares error estimation based on an adaptive regular grid search, to predict cell migration parameters that are not accessible in experiment. In the future, spatio-temporal simulations of whole-blood samples may enable timely stratification of sepsis patients by distinguishing hyper-inflammatory from paralytic phases in immune dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Lehnert
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knöll-Institute Jena, Germany ; Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany
| | - Sandra Timme
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knöll-Institute Jena, Germany ; Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany
| | - Johannes Pollmächer
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knöll-Institute Jena, Germany ; Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany
| | - Kerstin Hünniger
- Fungal Septomics, Septomics Research Center, Friedrich Schiller University and Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology Hans-Knöll-Institute Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Kurzai
- Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany ; Fungal Septomics, Septomics Research Center, Friedrich Schiller University and Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology Hans-Knöll-Institute Jena, Germany
| | - Marc Thilo Figge
- Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knöll-Institute Jena, Germany ; Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, Germany
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