TY - JOUR
T1 - Pathogenesis of the candida parapsilosis complex in the model host caenorhabditis elegans
AU - Souza, Ana Carolina Remondi
AU - Fuchs, Beth Burgwyn
AU - Alves, Viviane de Souza
AU - Jayamani, Elamparithi
AU - Colombo, Arnaldo Lopes
AU - Mylonakis, Eleftherios
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2018/8/8
Y1 - 2018/8/8
N2 - Caenorhabditis elegans is a valuable tool as an infection model toward the study of Candida species. In this work, we endeavored to develop a C. elegans-Candida parapsilosis infection model by using the fungi as a food source. Three species of the C. parapsilosis complex (C. parapsilosis (sensu stricto), Candida orthopsilosis and Candida metapsilosis) caused infection resulting in C. elegans killing. All three strains that comprised the complex significantly diminished the nematode lifespan, indicating the virulence of the pathogens against the host. The infection process included invasion of the intestine and vulva which resulted in organ protrusion and hyphae formation. Importantly, hyphae formation at the vulva opening was not previously reported in C. elegans-Candida infections. Fungal infected worms in the liquid assay were susceptible to fluconazole and caspofungin and could be found to mount an immune response mediated through increased expression of cnc-4, cnc-7, and fipr-22/23. Overall, the C. elegans-C. parapsilosis infection model can be used to model C. parapsilosis host-pathogen interactions.
AB - Caenorhabditis elegans is a valuable tool as an infection model toward the study of Candida species. In this work, we endeavored to develop a C. elegans-Candida parapsilosis infection model by using the fungi as a food source. Three species of the C. parapsilosis complex (C. parapsilosis (sensu stricto), Candida orthopsilosis and Candida metapsilosis) caused infection resulting in C. elegans killing. All three strains that comprised the complex significantly diminished the nematode lifespan, indicating the virulence of the pathogens against the host. The infection process included invasion of the intestine and vulva which resulted in organ protrusion and hyphae formation. Importantly, hyphae formation at the vulva opening was not previously reported in C. elegans-Candida infections. Fungal infected worms in the liquid assay were susceptible to fluconazole and caspofungin and could be found to mount an immune response mediated through increased expression of cnc-4, cnc-7, and fipr-22/23. Overall, the C. elegans-C. parapsilosis infection model can be used to model C. parapsilosis host-pathogen interactions.
KW - Caenorhabditis elegans
KW - Candida parapsilosis
KW - Host-pathogen interaction
KW - Hyphae
KW - Invertebrate infection model
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U2 - 10.3390/genes9080401
DO - 10.3390/genes9080401
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85051490516
SN - 2073-4425
VL - 9
JO - Genes
JF - Genes
IS - 8
M1 - 401
ER -