Project description:The capacity to sense and transduce temperature signals pervades all aspects of biology, and temperature exerts powerful control over the development and virulence of diverse pathogens. In the leading fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans, temperature has a profound impact on morphogenesis, a key virulence trait. Many cues that induce the transition from yeast to filamentous growth are contingent on a minimum temperature of 37ºC, while further elevatation to 39ºC serves as an independent inducing cue. The molecular chaperone Hsp90 is a key regulator of C. albicans temperature-dependent morphogenesis, as induction of filamentous growth requires relief from Hsp90-mediated repression of the morphogenetic program. Compromise of Hsp90 function genetically, pharmacologically, or by elevated temperature induces filamentation in a manner that depends on protein kinase A (PKA) signaling, but is independent of the terminal transcription factor, Efg1. Here, we determine that despite morphological and regulatory differences, inhibition of Hsp90 induces a transcriptional profile similar to that induced by other filamentation cues, and does so in a manner that is independent of Efg1. Further, we identify Hms1 as a transcriptional regulator required for morphogenesis induced by elevated temperature or compromise of Hsp90 function. Hms1 functions downstream of the cyclin Pcl, and the cyclin-dependent kinase Pho85, both of which are required for temperature-dependent filamentation. Upon Hsp90 inhibition, Hms1 binds to DNA elements involved in filamentous growth, including UME6 and RBT5, and regulates their expression, providing a mechanism through which Pho85, Pcl1, and Hms1 govern morphogenesis. Consistent with the importance of morphogenetic flexibility with virulence, deletion of C. albicans HMS1 attenuates virulence in a metazoan model of infection. Thus, we establish a new mechanism through which Hsp90 orchestrates C. albicans morphogenesis, and define novel regulatory circuitry governing a temperature-dependent developmental program, with broad implications for temperature sensing and virulence of microbial pathogens.

Project description:The capacity to sense and transduce temperature signals pervades all aspects of biology, and temperature exerts powerful control over the development and virulence of diverse pathogens. In the leading fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans, temperature has a profound impact on morphogenesis, a key virulence trait. Many cues that induce the transition from yeast to filamentous growth are contingent on a minimum temperature of 37ÂºC, while further elevatation to 39ÂºC serves as an independent inducing cue. The molecular chaperone Hsp90 is a key regulator of C. albicans temperature-dependent morphogenesis, as induction of filamentous growth requires relief from Hsp90-mediated repression of the morphogenetic program. Compromise of Hsp90 function genetically, pharmacologically, or by elevated temperature induces filamentation in a manner that depends on protein kinase A (PKA) signaling, but is independent of the terminal transcription factor, Efg1. Here, we determine that despite morphological and regulatory differences, inhibition of Hsp90 induces a transcriptional profile similar to that induced by other filamentation cues, and does so in a manner that is independent of Efg1. Further, we identify Hms1 as a transcriptional regulator required for morphogenesis induced by elevated temperature or compromise of Hsp90 function. Hms1 functions downstream of the cyclin Pcl, and the cyclin-dependent kinase Pho85, both of which are required for temperature-dependent filamentation. Upon Hsp90 inhibition, Hms1 binds to DNA elements involved in filamentous growth, including UME6 and RBT5, and regulates their expression, providing a mechanism through which Pho85, Pcl1, and Hms1 govern morphogenesis. Consistent with the importance of morphogenetic flexibility with virulence, deletion of C. albicans HMS1 attenuates virulence in a metazoan model of infection. Thus, we establish a new mechanism through which Hsp90 orchestrates C. albicans morphogenesis, and define novel regulatory circuitry governing a temperature-dependent developmental program, with broad implications for temperature sensing and virulence of microbial pathogens. Two-color experimental design testing the effect of geldanamycin on wild type of delta-efg1 cells. RNA from each replicate came from independent cultures.

Project description:The capacity to sense and transduce temperature signals pervades all aspects of biology, and temperature exerts powerful control over the development and virulence of diverse pathogens. In the leading fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans, temperature has a profound impact on morphogenesis, a key virulence trait. Many cues that induce the transition from yeast to filamentous growth are contingent on a minimum temperature of 37ºC, while further elevatation to 39ºC serves as an independent inducing cue. The molecular chaperone Hsp90 is a key regulator of C. albicans temperature-dependent morphogenesis, as induction of filamentous growth requires relief from Hsp90-mediated repression of the morphogenetic program. Compromise of Hsp90 function genetically, pharmacologically, or by elevated temperature induces filamentation in a manner that depends on protein kinase A (PKA) signaling, but is independent of the terminal transcription factor, Efg1. Here, we determine that despite morphological and regulatory differences, inhibition of Hsp90 induces a transcriptional profile similar to that induced by other filamentation cues, and does so in a manner that is independent of Efg1. Further, we identify Hms1 as a transcriptional regulator required for morphogenesis induced by elevated temperature or compromise of Hsp90 function. Hms1 functions downstream of the cyclin Pcl, and the cyclin-dependent kinase Pho85, both of which are required for temperature-dependent filamentation. Upon Hsp90 inhibition, Hms1 binds to DNA elements involved in filamentous growth, including UME6 and RBT5, and regulates their expression, providing a mechanism through which Pho85, Pcl1, and Hms1 govern morphogenesis. Consistent with the importance of morphogenetic flexibility with virulence, deletion of C. albicans HMS1 attenuates virulence in a metazoan model of infection. Thus, we establish a new mechanism through which Hsp90 orchestrates C. albicans morphogenesis, and define novel regulatory circuitry governing a temperature-dependent developmental program, with broad implications for temperature sensing and virulence of microbial pathogens.

Project description:The capacity to sense and transduce temperature signals pervades all aspects of biology, and temperature exerts powerful control over the development and virulence of diverse pathogens. In the leading fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans, temperature has a profound impact on morphogenesis, a key virulence trait. Many cues that induce the transition from yeast to filamentous growth are contingent on a minimum temperature of 37ÂºC, while further elevatation to 39ÂºC serves as an independent inducing cue. The molecular chaperone Hsp90 is a key regulator of C. albicans temperature-dependent morphogenesis, as induction of filamentous growth requires relief from Hsp90-mediated repression of the morphogenetic program. Compromise of Hsp90 function genetically, pharmacologically, or by elevated temperature induces filamentation in a manner that depends on protein kinase A (PKA) signaling, but is independent of the terminal transcription factor, Efg1. Here, we determine that despite morphological and regulatory differences, inhibition of Hsp90 induces a transcriptional profile similar to that induced by other filamentation cues, and does so in a manner that is independent of Efg1. Further, we identify Hms1 as a transcriptional regulator required for morphogenesis induced by elevated temperature or compromise of Hsp90 function. Hms1 functions downstream of the cyclin Pcl, and the cyclin-dependent kinase Pho85, both of which are required for temperature-dependent filamentation. Upon Hsp90 inhibition, Hms1 binds to DNA elements involved in filamentous growth, including UME6 and RBT5, and regulates their expression, providing a mechanism through which Pho85, Pcl1, and Hms1 govern morphogenesis. Consistent with the importance of morphogenetic flexibility with virulence, deletion of C. albicans HMS1 attenuates virulence in a metazoan model of infection. Thus, we establish a new mechanism through which Hsp90 orchestrates C. albicans morphogenesis, and define novel regulatory circuitry governing a temperature-dependent developmental program, with broad implications for temperature sensing and virulence of microbial pathogens. Genome-wide occupancy experiments (Chip-CHIP) of FLAG-tagged Hms1p from cells grown in the presence or absence of geldanamycin (GldA). Co-precipitating genomic DNA was labelled and hybridized to whole-genome tiling arrays.

Project description:The molecular chaperone Hsp90 orchestrates regulatory circuitry governing fungal morphogenesis, biofilm development, drug resistance, and virulence. Hsp90 functions in concert with co-chaperones to regulate stability and activation of client proteins, many of which are signal transducers. Here, we characterize the first Hsp90 co-chaperone in the leading human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. We demonstrate that Sgt1 physically interacts with Hsp90, and that it governs C. albicans morphogenesis and drug resistance. Genetic depletion of Sgt1 phenocopies depletion of Hsp90, inducing yeast to filament morphogenesis and invasive growth. Sgt1 governs these traits by bridging two morphogenetic regulators: Hsp90 and the adenylyl cyclase of the cAMP-PKA signaling cascade, Cyr1. Sgt1 physically interacts with Cyr1, and depletion of either Sgt1 or Hsp90 activates cAMP-PKA signaling, revealing the elusive link between Hsp90 and the PKA signaling cascade. Sgt1 also mediates tolerance and resistance to the two most widely deployed classes of antifungal drugs, azoles and echinocandins. Depletion of Sgt1 abrogates basal tolerance and acquired resistance to azoles, which target the cell membrane. Depletion of Sgt1 also abrogates tolerance and resistance to echinocandins, which target the cell wall, and renders echinocandins fungicidal. Though Sgt1 and Hsp90 have a conserved impact on drug resistance, the underlying mechanisms are distinct. Depletion of Hsp90 destabilizes the client protein calcineurin, thereby blocking crucial responses to drug-induced stress; in contrast, depletion of Sgt1 does not destabilize calcineurin, but blocks calcineurin activation in response to drug-induced stress. Sgt1 influences not only morphogenesis and drug resistance, but also virulence, as genetic depletion of C. albicans Sgt1 leads to reduced kidney fungal burden in a murine model of systemic infection. Thus, our characterization of the first Hsp90 co-chaperone in a fungal pathogen establishes C. albicans Sgt1 as a global regulator of morphogenesis and drug resistance, providing a new target for treatment of life-threatening fungal infections.

Project description:The capacity to transition between distinct morphological forms is a key virulence trait for diverse fungal pathogens. A poignant example of a leading opportunistic fungal pathogen of humans for which an environmentally responsive developmental program underpins virulence is Candida albicans. C. albicans mutants that are defective in the transition between yeast and filamentous forms typically have reduced virulence. Although many positive regulators of C. albicans filamentation have been defined, there are fewer negative regulators that have been implicated in repression of filamentation in the absence of inducing cues. To discover novel negative regulators of filamentation, we screened a collection of 1,248 C. albicans homozygous transposon insertion mutants to identify those that were filamentous in the absence of inducing cues. We identified the Rho1 GAP Lrg1, which represses filamentous growth by stimulating Rho1 GTPase activity and converting Rho1 to its inactive, GDP-bound form. Deletion of LRG1 or introduction of a RHO1 mutation that locks Rho1 in constitutively active, GTP-bound state, leads to filamentation in the absence of inducing cues. Deletion of the Rho1 downstream effector PKC1 results in defective filamentation in response to diverse host-relevant inducing cues, including serum. We further established that Pkc1 is not required to sense filament-inducing cues, but its kinase activity is critical for the initiation of filamentous growth. Our genetic analyses revealed that Pkc1 regulates filamentation independent of the canonical MAP kinase cascade. Further, although Ras1 activation is not impaired in a pkc1Δ/pkc1Δ mutant, adenylyl cyclase activity is reduced, consistent with a model in which Pkc1 functions in parallel with Ras1 in regulating Cyr1 activation. Thus, our findings delineate a signaling pathway comprised of Lrg1, Rho1 and Pkc1 with a core role in C. albicans morphogenesis, and illuminate functional relationships that govern activation of a central transducer of signals that control environmental response and virulence programs.

Project description:Candida albicans is the leading fungal pathogen of humans, causing life-threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals. Treatment of candidiasis is hampered by the limited number of antifungal drugs whose efficacy is compromised by host toxicity, fungistatic activity, and the emergence of drug resistance. We previously established that the molecular chaperone Hsp90, which regulates the form and function of diverse client proteins, potentiates resistance to the azoles in C. albicans and in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetic studies in S. cerevisiae revealed that Hsp90's role in azole resistance is to enable crucial cellular responses to the membrane stress exerted by azoles via the client protein calcineurin. Here, we demonstrate that Hsp90 governs cellular circuitry required for resistance to the only new class of antifungals to reach the clinic in decades, the echinocandins, which inhibit biosynthesis of a critical component of the fungal cell wall. Pharmacological or genetic impairment of Hsp90 function reduced tolerance of C. albicans laboratory strains and resistance of clinical isolates to the echinocandins and created a fungicidal combination. Compromising calcineurin function phenocopied compromising Hsp90 function. We established that calcineurin is an Hsp90 client protein in C. albicans: reciprocal co-immunoprecipitation validated physical interaction; Hsp90 inhibition blocked calcineurin activation; and calcineurin levels were depleted upon genetic reduction of Hsp90. The downstream effector of calcineurin, Crz1, played a partial role in mediating calcineurin-dependent stress responses activated by echinocandins. Hsp90's role in echinocandin resistance has therapeutic potential given that genetic compromise of C. albicans HSP90 expression enhanced the efficacy of an echinocandin in a murine model of disseminated candidiasis. Our results identify the first Hsp90 client protein in C. albicans, establish an entirely new role for Hsp90 in mediating resistance to echinocandins, and demonstrate that targeting Hsp90 provides a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of life-threatening fungal disease.

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Pho85, Pcl1, and Hms1 Signaling Governs Candida albicans Morphogenesis Induced by Elevated Temperature or Hsp90 Compromise

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