Candida albicans Phospholipomannan Is Sensed through Toll-Like Receptors

T Jouault, S Ibata-Ombetta, O Takeuchi… - The Journal of …, 2003 - academic.oup.com
T Jouault, S Ibata-Ombetta, O Takeuchi, PA Trinel, P Sacchetti, P Lefebvre, S Akira
The Journal of infectious diseases, 2003academic.oup.com
Candida albicans is a common, harmless yeast in the human digestive tract that also causes
severe systemic fungal infection in hospitalized patients. Its cell-wall surface displays a
unique glycolipid called phospholipomannan (PLM). The ability of PLM to stimulate tumor
necrosis factor (TNF)-α production by J774 mouse cells correlates with the activation of
nuclear factor (NF)-κB. We examined the involvement of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in PLM-
dependent stimulation. Compared with wild-type cells, which produced large amounts of …
Abstract
Candida albicans is a common, harmless yeast in the human digestive tract that also causes severe systemic fungal infection in hospitalized patients. Its cell-wall surface displays a unique glycolipid called phospholipomannan (PLM). The ability of PLM to stimulate tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production by J774 mouse cells correlates with the activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB. We examined the involvement of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in PLM-dependent stimulation. Compared with wild-type cells, which produced large amounts of TNF-α after incubation with PLM, the deletion of the TLR4 and TLR6 genes led to a limited alteration of the PLM-induced response. Deletion of the TLR2 gene completely abolished the cell response. Surface expression of PLM is a phylogenic trait of C. albicans , and the recognition of PLM by TLRs, together with the unique pathogenic potential of C. albicans , suggests that this molecule may be a member of the pathogenassociated molecular pattern family.
Oxford University Press