Carol Kumamoto

..Also, different genes are required in different host niches and the pathway(s) that regulates gene expression during host colonization can differ from well-characterized pathways used during laboratory growth...

..Compared to other model organisms and despite the clinical relevance of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans, no comprehensive analysis has been done to provide experimental support of its in silico-based genome annotation...

..Therefore, effects on IL-17 levels may underlie the ability of Candida colonization to enhance inflammation. Because Candida is a frequent colonizer, these effects have the potential to impact many people...

..Thus, analysis of C. albicans gene expression illuminates details of host-pathogen interactions and the differences between sites within the host...

..This Review discusses molecular mechanisms of mechanosensitivity, the proteins involved, such as mechanosensitive ion channels, G-protein-coupled receptors and integrins, and their putative roles in fungal contact sensing...

..albicans from the host bloodstream into deeper tissue. Hyphal morphogenesis is thus an integral part of the overall virulence strategy of C. albicans...

..Recent discoveries have identified factors that regulate these behaviors and revealed the importance of these behaviors for pathogenesis...

..Because responding to contact appropriately allows coordinated cellular behavior in a metazoan, commensal C. albicans cells behave like a part of the host, using contact-activated signaling to regulate fungal behavior...

..The critical element of this model is that the C. albicans colonizing population is not uniform but is composed of subpopulations of phenotypic variants that are advantageous under different host conditions...

..The mechanisms by which surface attachment leads to biofilm formation are presently not understood...

..albicans cells adopt a particular cell surface when growing within a host in both situations. In addition, transcription factors Cph2p and Tec1p were shown to regulate C. albicans gene expression during intestinal colonization...

..The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the addition of the azole antifungal fluconazole on the initiation of biofilm formation by both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant C. albicans strains...

..Thus, the general transcription factor Mcm1p participates in the regulation of MDR1 expression...

..We also demonstrate that Czf1p binds CZF1 promoter DNA in vitro. Therefore, for the regulation of both contact-dependent filamentation and white-opaque switching, Czf1p and Efg1p have opposing functions...

..The coupling of environmental cues to the expression of a morphogenetic transcription factor may allow C. albicans to coordinate morphogenesis in response to specific conditions encountered in the human host...

..Some Dfi1p molecules become cross-linked to the carbohydrate polymers of the cell wall. Thus, Dfi1p is capable of linking the cell wall to the plasma membrane and cytoplasm...

..These results implicate Drg1p in the control of invasive filamentation in the laboratory, and in the progression of invasive disease in the host...

..We propose that Czf1p interacts with Efg1p, altering its function. The complex regulation of filamentation may reflect the versatility of C. albicans as a pathogen...

..It remains to be seen whether attachment initiates dormancy that leads to the formation of fungal persisters. This study suggests that persisters may be largely responsible for the multidrug tolerance of fungal biofilms...

..These results suggest that chromosome copy number variation provides a mechanism for genetic variation in this asexual organism...

..Here, we review the presented research that highlights this theme, including studies of both short-term and long-term interactions between microbes and their hosts...

..cerevisiae. Experiments are proposed to identify interactors that bind to the gene products of interest and to elucidate the pathways in which these gene products participate. ..

..The long-term goal of these studies is to contribute to a more informed use of fluconazole with respect to prophylaxis, drug dosage regimens and the development of fluconazole resistant strains. ..

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..This research project seeks to understand Candida activities that are necessary for the growth of the organism into host tissue so that future therapies aimed at blocking growth into tissue might be developed. ..