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Updated: May 10, 2026
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An Ex vivo Assay to Study Candida albicans Hyphal Morphogenesis in the Gastrointestinal Tract
Published on: July 1, 2020
Engineering Candida albicans to secrete a host immunomodulatory factor.
Douglas A Johnston1, Junko Yano, Paul L Fidel
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
FEMS Microbiology Letters
|July 9, 2013
Summary
Researchers engineered Candida albicans to secrete mammalian proteins S100A8 and S100A9. These secreted proteins effectively attracted immune cells, demonstrating a novel strategy for manipulating host immune responses.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Gene knockout and transgenic mice are standard tools for studying host-pathogen interactions.
- Engineering pathogens to secrete host factors offers a novel alternative for modulating immune responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a method for expressing and secreting ectopic host proteins from Candida albicans.
- To investigate the secretion and biological activity of mammalian S100A8 and S100A9 proteins in C. albicans.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Sap2p prepropeptide from Candida albicans to facilitate protein secretion.
- Linked Sap2p prepropeptide coding sequence to S100A8 and S100A9 genes.
- Introduced expression constructs into C. albicans and analyzed secreted proteins and their bioactivity.
Main Results:
- Candida albicans successfully secreted intact S100A8 protein.
- Secreted S100A8 and S100A9 proteins exhibited potent chemoattractant activity for immune cells.
- S100A9 protein showed signs of degradation during secretion.
Conclusions:
- The engineered C. albicans strains can secrete functional mammalian proteins.
- This approach provides a novel strategy for delivering immunomodulatory proteins via fungal pathogens.
- The secreted pathogen-derived proteins retain their biological activity, influencing host immune cell behavior.
