Fungal recognition is mediated by the association of dectin-1 and galectin-3 in macrophages.

ABSTRACT: Dectin-1, the major ?-glucan receptor in leukocytes, triggers an effective immune response upon fungal recognition. Here we use sortase-mediated transpeptidation, a technique that allows placement of a variety of probes on a polypeptide backbone, to monitor the behavior of labeled functional dectin-1 in live cells with and without fungal challenge. Installation of probes on dectin-1 by sortagging permitted highly specific visualization of functional protein on the cell surface and its subsequent internalization upon ligand presentation. Retrieval of sortagged dectin-1 expressed in macrophages uncovered a unique interaction between dectin-1 and galectin-3 that functions in the proinflammatory response of macrophages to pathogenic fungi. When macrophages expressing dectin-1 are exposed to Candida albicans mutants with increased exposure of ?-glucan, the loss of galectin-3 dramatically accentuates the failure to trigger an appropriate TNF-? response.

SUBMITTER: Esteban A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3161568 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature