TY - JOUR
T1 - SUR7 deletion in Candida albicans impacts extracellular vesicle features and delivery of virulence factors
AU - McKenna, James A.
AU - Garcia-Ceron, Donovan
AU - Bleackley, Mark R.
AU - Yu, Long
AU - Bulone, Vincent
AU - Anderson, Marilyn A.
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from human fungal pathogens have been implicated in fungal virulence, yet little is known about their role in the host-pathogen interaction. Progress has been hampered by the lack of a specific marker for fungal EVs that can be used to monitor EV isolation and tracking in biological systems. Here we report the effect of a SUR7 gene knockout on the production, properties, and role of EVs in the virulence of Candida albicans. Sur7 is a component of the membrane compartment of Can1 (MCC) complex and is enriched in the EVs from C. albicans and other fungal species. MCC is a plasma membrane complex which together with the eisosome, a cytoplasmic protein complex, is a key regulator in plasma membrane organisation and plasma membrane associated processes. The SUR7 knockout strain produces smaller EVs than the wild-type (WT) with different protein and carbohydrate cargos. Furthermore, proteins with known roles in Candida pathogenesis were present in WT EVs and absent or diminished in the sur7Δ EVs. We demonstrate that the reduced virulence of the sur7Δ cells can be partially restored with EVs from a WT strain. These findings demonstrate the importance of Sur7-like proteins in the biogenesis of EVs in fungi and enhance our understanding of the role of fungal EVs in human pathogenesis.
AB - Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from human fungal pathogens have been implicated in fungal virulence, yet little is known about their role in the host-pathogen interaction. Progress has been hampered by the lack of a specific marker for fungal EVs that can be used to monitor EV isolation and tracking in biological systems. Here we report the effect of a SUR7 gene knockout on the production, properties, and role of EVs in the virulence of Candida albicans. Sur7 is a component of the membrane compartment of Can1 (MCC) complex and is enriched in the EVs from C. albicans and other fungal species. MCC is a plasma membrane complex which together with the eisosome, a cytoplasmic protein complex, is a key regulator in plasma membrane organisation and plasma membrane associated processes. The SUR7 knockout strain produces smaller EVs than the wild-type (WT) with different protein and carbohydrate cargos. Furthermore, proteins with known roles in Candida pathogenesis were present in WT EVs and absent or diminished in the sur7Δ EVs. We demonstrate that the reduced virulence of the sur7Δ cells can be partially restored with EVs from a WT strain. These findings demonstrate the importance of Sur7-like proteins in the biogenesis of EVs in fungi and enhance our understanding of the role of fungal EVs in human pathogenesis.
KW - Candida albicans
KW - extracellular vesicles
KW - Sur7
KW - virulence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85191456117&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/ARC/DP200103393
U2 - 10.1002/jex2.82
DO - 10.1002/jex2.82
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85191456117
SN - 2768-2811
VL - 2
JO - Journal of Extracellular Biology
JF - Journal of Extracellular Biology
IS - 5
M1 - e82
ER -