Discovering the secrets of the Candida albicans agglutinin-like sequence (ALS) gene family -: a sticky pursuit
Discovering the secrets of the Candida albicans agglutinin-like sequence (ALS) gene family -: a sticky pursuit
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DOI：
10.1080/13693780701435317
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发表时间：
2008-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Zhao, Xiaomin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hoyer, Lois L.;Green, Clayton B.;Zhao, Xiaomin
白色念珠菌的凝集素样序列(ALS)家族包括8个基因，编码大的细胞表面糖蛋白。ALS基因之间高度的序列相关性和巨大的等位基因变异性经常出现在同一白念珠菌株中，这使得该基因家族的定义和特征变得复杂。推动ALS家族研究的主要假设是，这些基因编码粘附素，主要参与宿主与病原体的相互作用。虽然已经证明了几种ALS蛋白具有黏附功能，但在像白色念珠菌这样的高度黏附的生物中研究假定的黏附素的挑战导致了关于如何最好地进行此类研究的不同想法，结果有时是相互矛盾的。最近对ALS/ALS菌株的分析表明，ALS蛋白的作用超出了与宿主表面的黏附，并且ALS蛋白的功能范围比人们通常认为的更广泛。在基因组水平上研究白念珠菌和ALS家族的实验方法的可用性和使用，促进了对这些基因的了解，并强调了它们在白念珠菌生物学和发病机制中的重要性。
The agglutinin-like sequence (ALS) family of Candida albicans includes eight genes that encode large cell-surface glycoproteins. The high degree of sequence relatedness between the ALS genes and the tremendous allelic variability often present in the same C. albicans strain complicated definition and characterization of the gene family. The main hypothesis driving ALS family research is that the genes encode adhesins, primarily involved in host-pathogen interactions. Although adhesive function has been demonstrated for several Als proteins, the challenge of studying putative adhesins in a highly adhesive organism like C. albicans has led to varying ideas about how best to pursue such investigations, and results that are sometimes contradictory. Recent analysis of als/als strains suggested roles for Als proteins outside of adhesion to host surfaces, and a broader scope of Als protein function than commonly believed. The availability and use of experimental methodologies to study C. albicans at the genomic level, and the ALS family en masse, have advanced knowledge of these genes and emphasized their importance in C. albicans biology and pathogenesis.