Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1994 Sep;62(9):4087–4090. doi: 10.1128/iai.62.9.4087-4090.1994

Surface hydrophobicity enhances corticosterone incorporation in Candida albicans.

P C Braun 1
PMCID: PMC303075  PMID: 8063431

Abstract

Increased intracellular incorporation of [3H]corticosterone in Candida albicans was dependent on cell surface hydrophobicity. C. albicans strains were grown in culture conditions that induced surface hydrophobicity, and cell wall conditions were evaluated with a polystyrene microsphere assay. Germ tubes, which exhibited the greatest cell surface hydrophobicity, incorporated seven times more radiolabel than the hydrophilic yeast forms. Hydrophobic yeasts contained four times more [3H]corticosterone than their polar counterparts. Hydrophobic yeasts incubated for 48 h on nutrient agar containing corticosterone showed reduced colony size compared with controls. These results demonstrate that environmental factors which augment cell wall hydrophobicity in C. albicans can increase the incorporation of corticosterone, which may influence the metabolic activities in this organism.

Full text

PDF
4087

Images in this article

4089Image
on p.4089

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ahearn D. G. Medically important yeasts. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1978;32:59–68. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.32.100178.000423. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Braun P. C., Calderone R. A. Chitin synthesis in Candida albicans: comparison of yeast and hyphal forms. J Bacteriol. 1978 Mar;133(3):1472–1477. doi: 10.1128/jb.133.3.1472-1477.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Braun P. C., Hector R. F., Kamark M. E., Hart J. T., Cihlar R. L. Effect of cerulenin and sodium butyrate on chitin synthesis in Candida albicans. Can J Microbiol. 1987 Jun;33(6):546–550. doi: 10.1139/m87-092. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Calderone R. A., Braun P. C. Adherence and receptor relationships of Candida albicans. Microbiol Rev. 1991 Mar;55(1):1–20. doi: 10.1128/mr.55.1.1-20.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cutler J. E. Putative virulence factors of Candida albicans. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1991;45:187–218. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.45.100191.001155. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hazen B. W., Hazen K. C. Dynamic expression of cell surface hydrophobicity during initial yeast cell growth and before germ tube formation of Candida albicans. Infect Immun. 1988 Sep;56(9):2521–2525. doi: 10.1128/iai.56.9.2521-2525.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hazen K. C., Hazen B. W. Hydrophobic surface protein masking by the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Infect Immun. 1992 Apr;60(4):1499–1508. doi: 10.1128/iai.60.4.1499-1508.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hazen K. C., Plotkin B. J., Klimas D. M. Influence of growth conditions on cell surface hydrophobicity of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. Infect Immun. 1986 Oct;54(1):269–271. doi: 10.1128/iai.54.1.269-271.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lee K. L., Buckley H. R., Campbell C. C. An amino acid liquid synthetic medium for the development of mycelial and yeast forms of Candida Albicans. Sabouraudia. 1975 Jul;13(2):148–153. doi: 10.1080/00362177585190271. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Loose D. S., Feldman D. Characterization of a unique corticosterone-binding protein in Candida albicans. J Biol Chem. 1982 May 10;257(9):4925–4930. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Loose D. S., Schurman D. J., Feldman D. A corticosteroid binding protein and endogenous ligand in C. albicans indicating a possible steroid-receptor system. Nature. 1981 Oct 8;293(5832):477–479. doi: 10.1038/293477a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Loose D. S., Stevens D. A., Schurman D. J., Feldman D. Distribution of a corticosteroid-binding protein in Candida and other fungal genera. J Gen Microbiol. 1983 Aug;129(8):2379–2385. doi: 10.1099/00221287-129-8-2379. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lopez-Ribot J. L., Casanova M., Martinez J. P., Sentandreu R. Characterization of cell wall proteins of yeast and hydrophobic mycelial cells of Candida albicans. Infect Immun. 1991 Jul;59(7):2324–2332. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.7.2324-2332.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Malloy P. J., Zhao X., Madani N. D., Feldman D. Cloning and expression of the gene from Candida albicans that encodes a high-affinity corticosteroid-binding protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Mar 1;90(5):1902–1906. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.5.1902. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Manning M., Mitchell T. G. Strain variation and morphogenesis of yeast- and mycelial-phase Candida albicans in low-sulfate, synthetic medium. J Bacteriol. 1980 May;142(2):714–719. doi: 10.1128/jb.142.2.714-719.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Powell B. L., Drutz D. J. Confirmation of corticosterone and progesterone binding activity in Candida albicans. J Infect Dis. 1983 Feb;147(2):359–359. doi: 10.1093/infdis/147.2.359. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Rotrosen D., Calderone R. A., Edwards J. E., Jr Adherence of Candida species to host tissues and plastic surfaces. Rev Infect Dis. 1986 Jan-Feb;8(1):73–85. doi: 10.1093/clinids/8.1.73. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rusconi S., Yamamoto K. R. Functional dissection of the hormone and DNA binding activities of the glucocorticoid receptor. EMBO J. 1987 May;6(5):1309–1315. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02369.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schena M., Yamamoto K. R. Mammalian glucocorticoid receptor derivatives enhance transcription in yeast. Science. 1988 Aug 19;241(4868):965–967. doi: 10.1126/science.3043665. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Scherer S., Magee P. T. Genetics of Candida albicans. Microbiol Rev. 1990 Sep;54(3):226–241. doi: 10.1128/mr.54.3.226-241.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES