Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans

Candida albicans is a polymorphic fungus that colonizes various barrier tissue sites in humans asymptomatically. However, under specific conditions, the fungus can turn pathogenic and provoke diseases. C. albicans has been observed to produce the lipid molecule, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), both in vitr...

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Main Author: Leong, Royston Weng Onn
Other Authors: Norman Pavelka
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: 2017
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72847
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-728472023-02-28T18:04:24Z Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans Leong, Royston Weng Onn Norman Pavelka School of Biological Sciences Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) DRNTU::Science Candida albicans is a polymorphic fungus that colonizes various barrier tissue sites in humans asymptomatically. However, under specific conditions, the fungus can turn pathogenic and provoke diseases. C. albicans has been observed to produce the lipid molecule, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), both in vitro and in vivo upon colonization of the host. PGE2 exerts diverse immunomodulatory effects in humans and has been implicated as a virulence factor for C. albicans. In this study, we investigated the role of fungus-derived PGE2 in modulating the status of C. albicans as a symbiont when colonizing the gastrointestinal tract or a pathogen in the host. Neither PGE2 supplementation nor blockade altered the in vitro growth or virulence of C. albicans, and an ole2/ole2 fungal mutant defective in PGE2 production manifested similar virulence as the wild-type strain in a mouse model of disseminated candidiasis. However, the ole2/ole2 mutant exhibited decreased competitive fitness in the murine gut. Thus, fungus-derived PGE2 might promote the ability of C. albicans to colonize the intestines but is not an essential virulence determinant. Our work identified PGE2 secretion as a novel mechanism employed by C. albicans to colonize the host gut as a symbiont and suggests the possibility of targeting PGE2 to modulate fungal commensalism versus pathogenicity in susceptible individuals. Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences 2017-11-29T04:49:29Z 2017-11-29T04:49:29Z 2017 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72847 en Nanyang Technological University 35 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Science
spellingShingle DRNTU::Science
Leong, Royston Weng Onn
Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans
description Candida albicans is a polymorphic fungus that colonizes various barrier tissue sites in humans asymptomatically. However, under specific conditions, the fungus can turn pathogenic and provoke diseases. C. albicans has been observed to produce the lipid molecule, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), both in vitro and in vivo upon colonization of the host. PGE2 exerts diverse immunomodulatory effects in humans and has been implicated as a virulence factor for C. albicans. In this study, we investigated the role of fungus-derived PGE2 in modulating the status of C. albicans as a symbiont when colonizing the gastrointestinal tract or a pathogen in the host. Neither PGE2 supplementation nor blockade altered the in vitro growth or virulence of C. albicans, and an ole2/ole2 fungal mutant defective in PGE2 production manifested similar virulence as the wild-type strain in a mouse model of disseminated candidiasis. However, the ole2/ole2 mutant exhibited decreased competitive fitness in the murine gut. Thus, fungus-derived PGE2 might promote the ability of C. albicans to colonize the intestines but is not an essential virulence determinant. Our work identified PGE2 secretion as a novel mechanism employed by C. albicans to colonize the host gut as a symbiont and suggests the possibility of targeting PGE2 to modulate fungal commensalism versus pathogenicity in susceptible individuals.
author2 Norman Pavelka
author_facet Norman Pavelka
Leong, Royston Weng Onn
format Final Year Project
author Leong, Royston Weng Onn
author_sort Leong, Royston Weng Onn
title Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans
title_short Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans
title_full Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans
title_fullStr Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans
title_full_unstemmed Physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin E₂ in Candida albicans
title_sort physiological functions of fungus-derived prostaglandin e₂ in candida albicans
publishDate 2017
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72847
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