scholarly journals Activation of oral epithelial EphA2-EFGR signaling by Candida albicans virulence factors

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Swidergall ◽  
Norma V. Solis ◽  
Nicolas Millet ◽  
Manning Y. Huang ◽  
Jianfeng Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Cell Receptors ◽  
Proinflammatory Mediators ◽  
Epidermal Growth

AbstractDuring oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC), Candida albicans invades and damages oral epithelial cells, which respond by producing proinflammatory mediators that recruit phagocytes to foci of infection. The ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EphA2) detects β-glucan and plays a central role in stimulating epithelial cells to release proinflammatory mediators during OPC. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) also interacts with C. albicans and is known to be activated by the Als3 adhesin/invasin and the Ece1/Candidalysin pore-forming toxin. Here, we investigated the interactions among EphA2, EGFR, Als3 and Ece1/Candidalysin during OPC. We found that Als3 and Ece1/Candidalysin function in the same pathway to damage epithelial cells in vitro. They also work together to cause OPC in mice. EGFR and EphA2 constitutively associate with each other as part of a physical complex and are mutually dependent for C. albicans-induced activation. In vitro, either Als3 or Ece1/Candidalysin is required for C. albicans to activate EGFR, sustain EphA2 activation, and stimulate epithelial cells to secrete CXCL8/IL-8 and CCL20. In the mouse model of OPC, Ece1/Candidalysin alone activates EGFR and induces CXCL1/KC and CCL20 production. Ece1/Candidalysin is also necessary for the production of IL-1α and IL-17A independently of Als3 and EGFR. These results delineate the complex interplay between host cell receptors and C. albicans virulence factors during the induction of OPC and the resulting oral inflammatory response.Author summaryOropharyngeal candidiasis occurs when the fungus Candida albicans proliferates in the mouth. The disease is characterized by fungal invasion of the superficial epithelium and a localized inflammatory response. Two C. albicans virulence factors contribute to the pathogenesis of OPC, Als3 which enables the organisms to adhere to and invade host cells and Ece1/Candidalysin which is pore-forming toxin that damages host cells. Two epithelial cell receptors, ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EphA2) and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are activated by C. albicans. Here, we show that EphA2 and EGFR form part of complex and that each receptor is required to activate the other. Als3 and Ece1/Candidalysin function in the same pathway to damage epithelial cells. In isolated epithelial cells, both of these virulence factors activate EphA2 and EGFR, and stimulate the production of inflammatory mediators. In the mouse model of OPC, Ece1/Candidalysin elicits of a subset of the oral inflammatory response. Of the cytokines and chemokines induced by this toxin, some require the activation of EGFR while others are induced independently of EGFR. This work provides a deeper understanding of the interactions among C. albicans virulence factors and host cell receptors during OPC.

scholarly journals Activation of EphA2-EGFR signaling in oral epithelial cells by Candida albicans virulence factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e1009221
Author(s):  
Marc Swidergall ◽  
Norma V. Solis ◽  
Nicolas Millet ◽  
Manning Y. Huang ◽  
Jianfeng Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Egfr Signaling ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Oral Epithelial Cells ◽  
Proinflammatory Mediators ◽  
Epidermal Growth ◽  
Oral Epithelial

During oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC), Candida albicans invades and damages oral epithelial cells, which respond by producing proinflammatory mediators that recruit phagocytes to foci of infection. The ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EphA2) detects β-glucan and plays a central role in stimulating epithelial cells to release proinflammatory mediators during OPC. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) also interacts with C. albicans and is known to be activated by the Als3 adhesin/invasin and the candidalysin pore-forming toxin. Here, we investigated the interactions among EphA2, EGFR, Als3 and candidalysin during OPC. We found that EGFR and EphA2 constitutively associate with each other as part of a heteromeric physical complex and are mutually dependent for C. albicans-induced activation. Als3-mediated endocytosis of a C. albicans hypha leads to the formation of an endocytic vacuole where candidalysin accumulates at high concentration. Thus, Als3 potentiates targeting of candidalysin, and both Als3 and candidalysin are required for C. albicans to cause maximal damage to oral epithelial cells, sustain activation of EphA2 and EGFR, and stimulate pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine secretion. In the mouse model of OPC, C. albicans-induced production of CXCL1/KC and CCL20 is dependent on the presence of candidalysin and EGFR, but independent of Als3. The production of IL-1α and IL-17A also requires candidalysin but is independent of Als3 and EGFR. The production of TNFα requires Als1, Als3, and candidalysin. Collectively, these results delineate the complex interplay among host cell receptors EphA2 and EGFR and C. albicans virulence factors Als1, Als3 and candidalysin during the induction of OPC and the resulting oral inflammatory response.

scholarly journals Protein Coding and Long Noncoding RNA (lncRNA) Transcriptional Landscape in SARS-CoV-2 Infected Bronchial Epithelial Cells Highlight a Role for Interferon and Inflammatory Response

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radhakrishnan Vishnubalaji ◽  
Hibah Shaath ◽  
Nehad M. Alajez
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Noncoding Rna ◽  
Cell Model ◽  
Bronchial Epithelial Cells ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Bronchial Epithelial ◽  
Upstream Regulator

The global spread of COVID-19, caused by pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) underscores the need for an imminent response from medical research communities to better understand this rapidly spreading infection. Employing multiple bioinformatics and computational pipelines on transcriptome data from primary normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) during SARS-CoV-2 infection revealed activation of several mechanistic networks, including those involved in immunoglobulin G (IgG) and interferon lambda (IFNL) in host cells. Induction of acute inflammatory response and activation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was prominent in SARS-CoV-2 infected NHBE cells. Additionally, disease and functional analysis employing ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) revealed activation of functional categories related to cell death, while those associated with viral infection and replication were suppressed. Several interferon (IFN) responsive gene targets (IRF9, IFIT1, IFIT2, IFIT3, IFITM1, MX1, OAS2, OAS3, IFI44 and IFI44L) were highly upregulated in SARS-CoV-2 infected NBHE cell, implying activation of antiviral IFN innate response. Gene ontology and functional annotation of differently expressed genes in patient lung tissues with COVID-19 revealed activation of antiviral response as the hallmark. Mechanistic network analysis in IPA identified 14 common activated, and 9 common suppressed networks in patient tissue, as well as in the NHBE cell model, suggesting a plausible role for these upstream regulator networks in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Our data revealed expression of several viral proteins in vitro and in patient-derived tissue, while several host-derived long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were identified. Our data highlights activation of IFN response as the main hallmark associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and in human, and identified several differentially expressed lncRNAs during the course of infection, which could serve as disease biomarkers, while their precise role in the host response to SARS-CoV-2 remains to be investigated.

scholarly journals Chemokines and Antimicrobial Peptides Have acag-Dependent Early Response to Helicobacter pylori Infection in Primary Human Gastric Epithelial Cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (7) ◽  
pp. 2881-2889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Mustapha ◽  
Isabelle Paris ◽  
Magali Garcia ◽  
Cong Tri Tran ◽  
Julie Cremniter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Inflammatory Mediator ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Gastric Epithelial Cells ◽  
Content Type ◽  
H Pylori

ABSTRACTHelicobacter pyloriinfection systematically causes chronic gastric inflammation that can persist asymptomatically or evolve toward more severe gastroduodenal pathologies, such as ulcer, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and gastric cancer. Thecagpathogenicity island (cagPAI) ofH. pyloriallows translocation of the virulence protein CagA and fragments of peptidoglycan into host cells, thereby inducing production of chemokines, cytokines, and antimicrobial peptides. In order to characterize the inflammatory response toH. pylori, a new experimental protocol for isolating and culturing primary human gastric epithelial cells was established using pieces of stomach from patients who had undergone sleeve gastrectomy. Isolated cells expressed markers indicating that they were mucin-secreting epithelial cells. Challenge of primary epithelial cells withH. pyloriB128 underscored early dose-dependent induction of expression of mRNAs of the inflammatory mediators CXCL1 to -3, CXCL5, CXCL8, CCL20, BD2, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). In AGS cells, significant expression of only CXCL5 and CXCL8 was observed following infection, suggesting that these cells were less reactive than primary epithelial cells. Infection of both cellular models withH. pyloriB128ΔcagM, acagPAI mutant, resulted in weak inflammatory-mediator mRNA induction. At 24 h after infection of primary epithelial cells withH. pylori, inflammatory-mediator production was largely due tocagPAI substrate-independent virulence factors. Thus,H. pyloricagPAI substrate appears to be involved in eliciting an epithelial response during the early phases of infection. Afterwards, other virulence factors of the bacterium take over in development of the inflammatory response. Using a relevant cellular model, this study provides new information on the modulation of inflammation duringH. pyloriinfection.

scholarly journals Transcriptional Responses of Candida albicans to Epithelial and Endothelial Cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1498-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunsook Park ◽  
Yaoping Liu ◽  
Norma Solis ◽  
Joshua Spotkov ◽  
Jessica Hamaker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Cell Damage ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Epithelial Cell Line ◽  
Transcriptional Responses ◽  
Oral Epithelial

ABSTRACT Candida albicans interacts with oral epithelial cells during oropharyngeal candidiasis and with vascular endothelial cells when it disseminates hematogenously. We set out to identify C. albicans genes that govern interactions with these host cells in vitro. The transcriptional response of C. albicans to the FaDu oral epithelial cell line and primary endothelial cells was determined by microarray analysis. Contact with epithelial cells caused a decrease in transcript levels of genes related to protein synthesis and adhesion, whereas contact with endothelial cells did not significantly influence any specific functional category of genes. Many genes whose transcripts were increased in response to either host cell had not been previously characterized. We constructed mutants with homozygous insertions in 22 of these uncharacterized genes to investigate their function during host-pathogen interaction. By this approach, we found that YCK2, VPS51, and UEC1 are required for C. albicans to cause normal damage to epithelial cells and resist antimicrobial peptides. YCK2 is also necessary for maintenance of cell polarity. VPS51 is necessary for normal vacuole formation, resistance to multiple stressors, and induction of maximal endothelial cell damage. UEC1 encodes a unique protein that is required for resistance to cell membrane stress. Therefore, some C. albicans genes whose transcripts are increased upon contact with epithelial or endothelial cells are required for the organism to damage these cells and withstand the stresses that it likely encounters during growth in the oropharynx and bloodstream.

scholarly journals Strain-Dependent Activation of Monocytes and Inflammatory Macrophages by Lipopolysaccharide ofPorphyromonas gingivalis

1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 2736-2742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lior Shapira ◽  
Catherine Champagne ◽  
Thomas E. Van Dyke ◽  
Salomon Amar
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Periodontal Diseases ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Necrosis Factor Alpha ◽  
Proinflammatory Mediators ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
Strain Dependent

ABSTRACT Porphyromonas gingivalis is one of the pathogens associated with periodontal diseases, and its lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been suggested as a possible virulence factor, acting by stimulation of host cells to secrete proinflammatory mediators. However, recent studies have shown that P. gingivalis LPS inhibited some components of the inflammatory response. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that there are strain-dependent variations in the ability of P. gingivalisLPS to elicit the host inflammatory response. By using LPS preparations from two strains of P. gingivalis, W50 and A7346, the responses of mouse macrophages and human monocytes were evaluated by measuring the secretion of nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Both direct and indirect (priming) effects were investigated. LPS from Salmonella typhosa was used as a reference LPS. P. gingivalis A7436 LPS induced lower secreted levels of NO from the tested cells than S. typhosaLPS but induced similar levels of TNF-α. In contrast, LPS fromP. gingivalis W50 did not induce NO or TNF-α secretion. Preincubation of macrophages with LPS from S. typhosa orP. gingivalis A7436 prior to stimulation with S. typhosa LPS upregulated NO secretion and downregulated TNF-α secretion, while preincubation with P. gingivalis W50 LPS enhanced both TNF-α and NO secretory responses. These results demonstrate that LPSs derived from different strains of P. gingivalis vary in their biological activities in vitro. The findings may have an impact on our understanding of the range ofP. gingivalis virulence in vivo.

scholarly journals EnteropathogenicEscherichia colidynamically regulates EGFR signaling in intestinal epithelial cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (3) ◽  
pp. G374-G380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lising Roxas ◽  
Katheryn Ryan ◽  
Gayatri Vedantam ◽  
V. K. Viswanathan
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Intestinal Epithelial Cells ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Intestinal Epithelial ◽  
Caspase Activation ◽  
Host Cell Death ◽  
Infected Cells ◽  
Epidermal Growth

The diarrheagenic pathogen enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) dynamically modulates the survival of infected host intestinal epithelial cells. In the initial stages of infection, several prosurvival signaling events are activated in host cells. These include the phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the consequent activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/Akt pathway. While studying this pathway in infected epithelial cells, we observed EGFR depletion at later stages of infection, followed subsequently by a decrease in phospho-EGFR. EGFR loss was not dependent on receptor phosphorylation, or on canonical proteasome- and lysosome-dependent processes. Although a type III secretion mutant (Δ escN) stimulated EGFR phosphorylation, it failed to induce receptor degradation. To identify the specific EPEC effector molecule(s) that influenced EGFR stability, epithelial cells infected with isogenic mutant EPEC strains were examined. An EPEC Δ espF strain failed to induce EGFR degradation, whereas EPEC Δ espZ accentuated receptor loss in infected cells. Given the known and contrasting effects of EspF and EspZ on caspase activation, and the known role of proteases in cleaving EGFR, we explored the effect of caspase inhibitors on infection-dependent EGFR loss. The pan-caspase inhibitor Q-VD-OPh blocked EPEC-induced EGFR cleavage in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, our data suggest that EPEC EspF stimulates caspase-dependent EGFR cleavage and loss, whereas EspZ inhibits this process. Whereas EGFR phosphorylation contributes to the survival of host cells early in infection, EspF-driven caspase activation and consequent EGFR loss likely induce a precipitous increase in host cell death later in the infectious process.

scholarly journals The globular C1q receptor is required for epidermal growth factor receptor signaling during Candida albicans infection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quynh T Phan ◽  
Jianfeng Lin ◽  
Norma V Solis ◽  
Michael Eng ◽  
Marc Swidergall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Candida Albicans ◽  
Growth Factor ◽  
Epidermal Growth Factor ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Transmembrane Protein ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Oral Epithelial Cells ◽  
Epidermal Growth ◽  
Oral Epithelial

During oropharyngeal candidiasis, Candida albicans activates the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which induces oral epithelial cells to both endocytose the fungus and synthesize proinflammatory mediators that orchestrate the host immune response. To elucidate the signaling pathways that are stimulated when C. albicans interacts with EGFR, we analyzed the proteins that associate with EGFR when C. albicans infects human oral epithelial cells. We identified 1214 proteins that were associated with EGFR in C. albicans-infected cells. We investigated the function of seven of these proteins that either showed increased association with EGFR in response to C. albicans or that mediated the interaction of other microbial pathogens with epithelial cells. Among these proteins, EGFR was found to associate with WW domain-binding protein 2, toll-interacting protein, interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3, and the globular C1q receptor (gC1qR) in viable epithelial cells. Each of these proteins was required for maximal endocytosis of C. albicans and they all regulated fungal-induced production of IL-1β and/or IL-8, either positively or negatively. gC1qR functioned as a key co-receptor with EGFR. Interacting with the C. albicans Als3 invasin, gC1qR was required for the fungus to stimulate both EGFR and the ephrin type-A receptor 2. The combination of gC1qR and EGFR was necessary for maximal endocytosis of C. albicans and secretion of IL-1β, IL-8, and GM-CSF. Thus, this work provides an atlas of proteins that associate with EGFR and identifies several that play a central role in the response of human oral epithelial cells to C. albicans infection.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document