Identification and characterization of virulence associated genes during vaginal infections with Candida albicans, focusing on the cell wall

白色念珠菌阴道感染期间毒力相关基因的鉴定和表征，重点关注细胞壁

• 批准号: 5426958
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Steffen Rupp
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Grenzflächenverfahrenstechnik und Plasmatechnologie IGVP
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Priority Programmes
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2003-12-31 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/5426958?language=en
• 关键词: Identification; characterization; virulence; associated; genes

Candida albicans is the predominant cause of fungal infections in immuno-compromised patients but also affects healthy individuals. Among these infections vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) is one of the most common symptomatic infections, affecting up to 75% of all women. In order to understand how C. albicans is able to recognize, colonize and infect the vaginal tract we want to identify the genes expressed in C. albicans during infection. Identification of virulence associated genes in vaginal candidiasis will be performed using transcriptional profiling of Candida infecting in vitro reconstructed vaginal tissue. These data will be compared to data of oral and cutaneous infection models in a cooperative effort, to reveal genes expressed specifically during infection of vaginal tissue. The major focus of this work will be on the function of the proteins in the cell wall during infection since the cell wall is the primary fungal structure interacting with the host. Thus the functional characterization of cell wall proteins associated with virulence will be of first priority. Cell surface proteins already identified as associated with virulence in an Efg1p dependent manner will be functionally characterized in vitro as well as in mouse models of vaginal and systemic candidiasis using mutational approaches. The results gathered during this project will be verified directly in clinical isolates from patients and continued in further application periods of this priority program in order to understand infection mechanisms of C. albicans and to contribute to prevention and treatment of VVC.

白色念珠菌是免疫功能低下患者真菌感染的主要原因，但也会影响健康人。在这些感染中，外阴阴道假丝酵母菌病(VVC)是最常见的症状性感染之一，影响多达75%的所有妇女。为了了解白念珠菌是如何识别、定植和感染阴道的，我们想要确定白念珠菌在感染过程中表达的基因。阴道念珠菌病毒力相关基因的鉴定将使用体外重建的阴道组织中感染念珠菌的转录图谱进行。这些数据将与口腔和皮肤感染模型的数据进行合作比较，以揭示在阴道组织感染过程中特异表达的基因。由于细胞壁是与宿主相互作用的主要真菌结构，因此这项工作的主要重点将放在细胞壁中蛋白质在感染过程中的功能上。因此，与毒力相关的细胞壁蛋白的功能特征将是首要任务。已经以Efg1p依赖的方式被鉴定为与毒力相关的细胞表面蛋白将在体外以及使用突变方法在阴道和全身念珠菌病的小鼠模型中进行功能表征。项目期间收集的结果将直接在患者的临床分离中进行验证，并在这一优先计划的后续应用阶段继续进行，以了解白色念珠菌的感染机制，为VVC的预防和治疗做出贡献。