Effects of altered N-glycan structures of Cryptococcus neoformans mannoproteins, MP98 (Cda2) and MP84 (Cda3), on interaction with host cells

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic human fungal pathogen causing lethal meningoencephalitis. It has several cell wall mannoproteins (MPs) identified as immunoreactive antigens. To investigate the structure and function of N-glycans assembled on cryptococcal cell wall MPs in host cell interactions, we purified MP98 (Cda2) and MP84 (Cda3) expressed in wild-type (WT) and N-glycosylation-defective alg3 mutant (alg3Δ) strains. HPLC and MALDI-TOF analysis of the MP proteins from the WT revealed protein-specific glycan structures with different extents of hypermannosylation and xylose/xylose phosphate addition. In alg3Δ, MP98 and MP84 had truncated core N-glycans, containing mostly five and seven mannoses (M5 and M7 forms), respectively. In vitro adhesion and uptake assays indicated that the altered core N-glycans did not affect adhesion affinities to host cells although the capacity to induce the immune response of bone-marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) decreased. Intriguingly, the removal of all N-glycosylation sites on MP84 increased adhesion to host cells and enhanced the induction of cytokine secretion from BMDCs compared with that on MP84 carrying WT N-glycans. Therefore, the structure-dependent effects of N-glycans suggested their complex roles in modulating the interaction of MPs with host cells to avoid nonspecific adherence to host cells and host immune response hyperactivation.

Cryptococcus neoformans can utilize ferritin as an iron source

Ferritin, a major iron storage protein in vertebrates, supplies iron upon iron deficiency. Ferritin is also found extracellularly, and acts as an iron carrier and a contributor to the immune response to invading microbes. Some microbial pathogens take advantage of ferritin as an iron source upon infection. However, no information is currently available on whether the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans can acquire iron from ferritin. Here, we found that C. neoformans grew well in the presence of ferritin as a sole iron source. We showed that the binding of ferritin to the surface of C. neoformans is necessary and that acidification may contribute to ferritin-iron utilization by the fungus. Our data also revealed that the high-affinity reductive iron uptake system in C. neoformans is required for ferritin-iron acquisition. Furthermore, phagocytosis of C. neoformans by macrophages led to increased intracellular ferritin levels, suggesting that iron is sequestered by ferritin in infected macrophages. The increase in intracellular ferritin levels was reversed upon infection with a C. neoformans mutant deficient in the high-affinity reductive iron uptake system, indicating that this system plays a major role in iron acquisition in the phagocytosed C. neoformans in macrophages.

LAY SUMMARY

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen causing life-threatening pulmonary disease and cryptococcal meningitis, mainly in immunocompromised patients. In this study, we found that C. neoformans can use ferritin, a major iron storage protein in vertebrates, as a sole iron source.

Integrated genomic and transcriptomic analysis reveals unique mechanisms for high osmotolerance and halotolerance in Hyphopichia yeast

The yeast species Hyphopichia is common in nature and strongly competitive under harsh environmental conditions. Here, we characterized Hyphopichia burtonii KJJ43 and H. pseudoburtonii KJS14, which exhibit strong halotolerance, using genomic and transcriptomic analyses. The genomes of H. burtonii and H. pseudoburtonii comprised eight chromosomes with 85.17% nucleotide identity and significant divergence in synteny. Notably, both Hyphopichia genomes possessed extended gene families of amino acid permeases and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, whose dynamic expression patterns during osmotic stress were revealed using transcriptome profiling. Intriguingly, we found unique features of the HOG pathway activated by Hog1p even under non-osmotic stress conditions and the upregulation of cytosolic Gpd1 protein during osmotic stress. Associated with hyperfilamentation growth under high osmotic conditions, a set of genes in the FLO family with induced expression in response to NaCl, KCl, and sorbitol supplementation were identified. Moreover, comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the NaCl-specific induction of genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism, particularly BAT2. This suggests the potential association between oxoacid reaction involving branched-chain amino acids and osmotolerance. The combined omics analysis of two Hyphopichia species provides insights into the novel mechanisms involved in salt and osmo-stress tolerance exploited by diverse eukaryotic organisms.

Yeast synthetic biology for designed cell factories producing secretory recombinant proteins

Yeasts are prominent hosts for the production of recombinant proteins from industrial enzymes to therapeutic proteins. Particularly, the similarity of protein secretion pathways between these unicellular eukaryotic microorganisms and higher eukaryotic organisms has made them a preferential host to produce secretory recombinant proteins. However, there are several bottlenecks, in terms of quality and quantity, restricting their use as secretory recombinant protein production hosts. In this mini-review, we discuss recent developments in synthetic biology approaches to constructing yeast cell factories endowed with enhanced capacities of protein folding and secretion as well as designed targeted post-translational modification process functions. We focus on the new genetic tools for optimizing secretory protein expression, such as codon-optimized synthetic genes, combinatory synthetic signal peptides and copy number-controllable integration systems, and the advanced cellular engineering strategies, including endoplasmic reticulum and protein trafficking pathway engineering, synthetic glycosylation, and cell wall engineering, for improving the quality and yield of secretory recombinant proteins.

Functional analysis of Mpk1-mediated cell wall integrity signaling pathway in the thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha

Understanding the characteristics and regulation mechanisms of cell wall integrity (CWI) in yeast is important not only for basic research but also in biotechnological applications. We found significantly different CWIs in two representative strains of the thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha. Compared to the A16 strain (classified as Ogataea polymorpha), the DL1-L strain (classified as Ogataea parapolymorpha) has a thinner cell wall that was found to be more fragile following long-term cultivation and more sensitive to zymolyase. To gain a deeper insight into this difference, we compared the characteristics of the Mpk1pmediated CWI signaling pathway in the two strains. While a DL1-L mutant deficient in Mpk1p (mpk1Δ) showed severe growth retardation at both normal and high growth temperatures and in the presence of cell-wall disrupting agents, the A16 mpk1Δ mutant displayed only a mild defect in cell growth. Sorbitol effect on rescuing growth retardation was different in the two mpk1Δ strains, which could partly be ascribed to subtle differences in the activation of HOG pathway. Among the cell wall disruptors evaluated, only caffeine clearly increased phosphorylation of Mpk1p in DL1-L, but not in A16. A transcriptome analysis of the DL1-L strain revealed that caffeine significantly increased the expression of a subset of cell-wall related genes in an Mpk1p-dependent manner, but not the expected Rlm1-target genes. Taken together, our data support an essential role for Mpk1p in maintaining CWI in H. polymorpha, although the requirement for Mpk1p and its regulation under diverse stress conditions varies depending on the strain background.

Hansenula polymorpha Pmt4p Plays Critical Roles in O-Mannosylation of Surface Membrane Proteins and Participates in Heteromeric Complex Formation

O-mannosylation, the addition of mannose to serine and threonine residues of secretory proteins, is a highly conserved post-translational modification found in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. Here, we report the functional and molecular characterization of the HpPMT4 gene encoding a protein O-mannosyltransferase in the thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha, an emerging host for the production of therapeutic recombinant proteins. Compared to the deletion of HpPMT1, deletion of another major PMT gene, HpPMT4, resulted in more increased sensitivity to the antibiotic hygromycin B, caffeine, and osmotic stresses, but did not affect the thermotolerance of H. polymorpha. Notably, the deletion of HpPMT4 generated severe defects in glycosylation of the surface sensor proteins HpWsc1p and HpMid2p, with marginal effects on secreted glycoproteins such as chitinase and HpYps1p lacking a GPI anchor. However, despite the severely impaired mannosylation of surface sensor proteins in the Hppmt4∆ mutant, the phosphorylation of HpMpk1p and HpHog1p still showed a high increase upon treatment with cell wall disturbing agents or high concentrations of salts. The conditional Hppmt1pmt4∆ double mutant strains displayed severely impaired growth, enlarged cell size, and aberrant cell separation, implying that the loss of HpPMT4 function might be lethal to cells in the absence of HpPmt1p. Moreover, the HpPmt4 protein was found to form not only a homomeric complex but also a heteromeric complex with either HpPmt1p or HpPmt2p. Altogether, our results support the function of HpPmt4p as a key player in O-mannosylation of cell surface proteins and its participation in the formation of heterodimers with other PMT members, besides homodimer formation, in H. polymorpha.