Filamentation protects Candida albicans from amphotericin B-induced programmed cell death via a mechanism involving the yeast metacaspase, MCA1

Authors:

David J. Laprade, Melissa S. Brown#, Morgan L. McCarthy#, James J. Ritch, and Nicanor Austriaco

doi: 10.15698/mic2016.07.512
Volume 3, pp. 285 to 292, published 25/04/2016.

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Affiliations:

Department of Biology, Providence College, 1 Cunningham Square, Providence, Rhode Island 02918, U.S.A..

# These two authors contributed equally to this work.

Keywords: 

Candida albicans, amphotericin B, caspofungin, MCA1, programmed cell death, filamentation.

Corresponding Author(s):

Rev. Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, O.P., Ph.D, Department of Biology, Providence College, Providence, RI 02918, U.S.A; Tel: 401-865-1823; Fax: 401-865-2959 naustria@providence.edu

Conflict of interest statement:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Please cite this article as:

David J. Laprade, Melissa S. Brown, Morgan L. McCarthy, James J. Ritch, and Nicanor Austriaco (2016). Filamentation protects Candida albicans from amphotericin B-induced programmed cell death via a mechanism involving the yeast metacaspase, MCA1. Microbial Cell 3(7): 285-292. doi: 10.15698/mic2016.07.512

© 2016 Laprade et al. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.

Abstract:

The budding yeast Candida albicans is one of the most significant fungal pathogens worldwide. It proliferates in two distinct cell types: blastopores and filaments. Only cells that are able to transform from one cell type into the other are virulent in mouse disease models. Programmed cell death is a controlled form of cell suicide that occurs when C. albicans cells are exposed to fungicidal drugs like amphotericin B and caspofungin, and to other stressful conditions. We now provide evidence that suggests that programmed cell death is cell-type specific in yeast: Filamentous C. albicans cells are more resistant to amphotericin B- and caspofungin-induced programmed cell death than their blastospore counterparts. Finally, our genetic data suggests that this phenomenon is mediated by a protective mechanism involving the yeast metacaspase, MCA1.