Effect of propranolol on hyphae formation signal in Candida albicans

Candida albicans (C. albicans) is known as an opportunistic pathogen that changes from a yeast form to a hyphae form in response to various outside environmental signals. The addition of propranolol inhibited hyphae formation of C. albicans. Propranolol inhibited the expression of agglutinin like sequence 3 (ALS3) and ALS8mRNA, which are regulated by the cAMP-EFG1 pathway in C. albicans. Propranolol did not affect the expression of CST20, HST7 or CPH1mRNA, which are components of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade in C. albicans. The expression of CYR1mRNA, which encodes adenylate cyclase of C. albicans, was not affected by propranolol. These findings indicated that the interruption of hyphae formation by propranolol is caused by inhibition of the cAMP-EFG1 pathway, but not effects on the MAP kinase cascade.